Downward pressure on prices has had a huge part to play in the stonefruit category over the last three months, as European growers endured a difficult period in the UK market.
Spanish plums enjoyed a good season in terms of quality and fruit will continue to arrive in the UK until the middle of the month.
But the strong UK plum crop over the summer coincided with the bulk of Spanish supplies and this saw supermarkets prioritise home-grown fruit at the expense of European product, says one trader, who describes the situation as “unfair” due to the “inferior quality” of English fruit. The situation, he claims, was much the same if not worse in Germany, where domestic plums also fetched higher prices.
The European season was very difficult for a number of reasons, say insiders - not least the economic climate and “tremendous pressure on price”. “Pricing bore no relation to the cost of production during the European season,” says one source.
As regards other northern hemisphere sources, Californian shippers enjoyed a strong season in terms of eating quality, but shorter volume made it tough going in the UK market, with pressure on pricing also having an impact.
Israeli exporters also report a difficult season in the UK (see p12), despite offering good-quality fruit.
But as final northern hemisphere supplies wind down and the first southern hemisphere fruit arrives in the UK market, there is a general sense of optimism for the next few months.
Early indications from South Africa are for a good 2009-10 stonefruit crop. Stefan Conradie, South African product manager for stone and top fruit, told FPJ: “Early indications are that we expect a good-quality stonefruit crop with sufficient volume this season. Fruit set reported on stonefruit to date has been good.”
The 2009 South African winter saw the good rains and cold weather necessary for stonefruit production, ensuring good dormancy, and this replenished dam and underground water sources for the dry summer months until the harvest.
The flowering date is earlier compared to the previous season and early-season fruit seems to be a week earlier. Airfreight consignments of peaches and nectarines from South Africa have already arrived in the UK and the first seafreighted volumes are expected to arrive in the middle of November, around a week behind sendings to the European market.
The South African peach season is expected to wind down after Christmas, while nectarines are due to continue until the end of February before Chilean fruit takes over.
“Quality on airfreight has been super - we have had a little Earligrande and San Pedro peach, which had a nice blush and have eaten well,” says one insider.
The first Mayglo nectarines have also been a “reasonable eat” for this time of year, with brix levels between eight and 14.
As FPJ went to press, difficult weather in the last week including hail and a hurricane in the Berg River area had blown some peaches and nectarines off the trees, but the quality is “intrinsically there”, according to one insider.
South African shippers expect peaches to be a stable export this season, with some new experimental varieties coming through that may have a small commercial impact.
The nectarine season is expected to shape up well. “There has been a lot of work commercially in looking for earlier and bolder-coloured fruit that is also larger and sweeter,” says one source. Newer nectarine varieties expected to make an impact this season include Starborne, Sunburst, Royal Gem and Red Jewel.
Adverse weather may see the South African apricot crop reduced by 15 per cent, mainly in early varieties, so volumes to export will be small. But the season is predicted to come on stream one week earlier than usual, avoiding the typical problem of fruit all arriving in the UK in the week between Christmas and New Year, with more fruit available prior to Christmas.
Meanwhile, early plum variety Pioneer could ship in the next two weeks, and the rest of the crop is generally expected to come on stream one week earlier than last year.
“Some mid-season varieties have not had as good a set as last year, because of orchard growth and natural thinning from the wind,” says one source. “But we are not expecting a major impact on plums overall - just that early fruit will be slightly earlier this year and it should be a relatively stable crop.”
The South African plum category is also set to be shaken up by new cultivars this season, including red varieties Teak Gold, African Rose and Ruby Star. More plantings of late-season variety African Delight are also available.
There will be more movement in black plums, with a lot of plantings of sub-variants of the trademark-registered Black Diamond series. Late black plums may yield a slightly lower crop this year, according to sources, and there may not be a lot of fruit around at the end of the season.
On yellow plums, there will not be a great deal of new varieties, but more consistent volumes of the African Pride range will be available. Early indications are for a normal crop on Songold.
Meanwhile in Chile, some producers are feeling the effects of El Niño. In September, the regions of Atacama and Coquimbo suffered harsh frosts and these even reached as far as the Aconcagua valley. Although grape production in the valley is expected to be most affected by the cold snap, cherries and apricots, which are the first of the stonefruits to be harvested, are also expected to feel the effects.
The Chilean cherry season kicks off first of all the stonefruit types later this month. It is the one single tree fruit line that has been experiencing growth in recent seasons, mainly as producers and exporters try to diversify away from table grapes to expand their portfolio and their activity into more months of the year.
Overall, the southern hemisphere is hoping to serve up a decent stonefruit campaign. One insider tells FPJ: “The general message is that in a grotty economy with recessive trends, stonefruit could stand out a bit. The fact people are airfreighting fruit shows that there is a shortage and that consumers do want stonefruit.”
FOCUS ON FLAVOUR FOR SUN WORLD
Plums are the key stonefruit item in Sun World International’s variety development stable and they are followed by fresh apricots, as well as low- and medium-chill peaches and nectarines, says chief marketing officer David Marguleas.
This portion of the Sun World breeding programme dates to the early 1980s with the introduction of Suplumeleven, the company’s original red-fleshed plum variety marketed under the trademarked Black Diamond brand, as well as its earlier yellow-fleshed cousin, the ubiquitous Angeleno variety plum. All of Sun World’s own plum and apricot production is located in the southern San Joaquin Valley in the centre of California. The company’s leading stonefruit varieties can also be found under licensed production in Chile, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, Italy, Spain, France and Israel. The commercial heart of Sun World’s variety development efforts lie with about a dozen black-skinned plum varieties that comprise two burgeoning lines - one with red flesh and one with yellow flesh. The trademarked brand Black Giant is used to represent a series of very large, flavourful plums with yellow flesh that are available continuously for about 10 weeks, while the Black Diamond line represents a series of high brix red-fleshed varieties that span a period of 12 weeks.
The company has also developed a series of large, intensely coloured and flavourful early-season apricots that are available for a period of about eight weeks and marketed internationally under the trademarked Honeycot brand.
All of these varieties are grown commercially by Sun World and increasingly by its international licensees. Some have been available for several years, while others, such as the Suaprinine apricot and Suplumtwentyeight plum, were released more recently. The concept of a continuous series of stonefruit varieties with similar traits resonates with growers, packers, marketers, retailers and consumers - all of whom are looking to replicate positive eating experiences with one variety and extend that experience across a season.
Sun World also operates one of the world’s only low-chill breeding efforts and has produced several distinctive peaches and nectarines that can be grown in non-traditional stonefruit-growing regions, such as parts of southern Spain, Israel, North Africa, Mexico and California’s Coachella Valley, as well as in the northern stretches of Chile, Australia and South Africa. For this, the breeding staff seek varieties with relatively high (early-season) brix, firm flesh and texture, good exterior blush and large size. To date, several peach varieties marketed under the company’s trademarked Amber Crest brand fit that bill and include Supechfiteen, Supechsixteen and Sunecttwentyone.
Sun World’s research staff focus on the development of a full line of plums and apricots, as well as on creating early-ripening peaches and nectarines that can be grown in low- and medium-chill regions. During the past five years, we have produced about 60,000 seedlings, each of which has the potential to be a new variety, and we now have more than 125 stonefruit varieties under test.
Desirable plum traits include high brix and unique aromatic qualities that enhance the eating experience, as well as firm texture, juiciness, large size and consistency across each major series. Preferred apricot characteristics include classic apricot aroma along with high brix, distinctive red blush and consistency across the Honeycot brand series.
The stonefruit variety development team is headed by Terry Bacon, one of the world’s foremost fruit breeders, who has been with Sun World for nearly a decade. The other members of the team have each been on the company’s research staff for nearly 20 years.
Sun World’s stonefruit varieties, as with our grape varieties, are licensed to hundreds of growers around the world who each work in accordance with pre-determined production levels and prescribed quality specifications. All fruit is then brought to market by one of 12 companies licensed to market Sun World stonefruit and to use its intellectual property and brands in the marketplace.
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