The Namibia Development Corporation (NDC) has said grape harvest at the Naute Dam Irrigation Project will have recovered this year after weed killer damaged vines in 2010.
Mous Boshoff, the NDC’s project manager, has said boxes 65,000 boxes of grapes weighing 4.5kg each are set for the UK market.
To date 40,000 boxes of grapes with prices between N$80 (£39.33) and N$100 (£49.16) have been shipped out of the country, Boshoff has told The Namibian/All Africa Global Media.
He has said he expects the harvest to be finished during the first week of January.
“Normally, we wrap up the harvest just before Christmas, but this year we expect to run into the new year. We need to keep the grapes longer on the vines for sugar accumulation,” said Bolshoff.
The Namibian/All Africa Global Media said the NDC plans to put 20 additional hectares under table grape cultivation next year. Boshoff suggested the government has budgeted N$100 million over three years for the irrigation project.
He added the NDC also plans to expand its prickly pear and pomegranate cultivation next year. The first pomegranate harvest is expected early next year.
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