Namibia is expecting a vintage grape season with spiralling exports.
This week, Capespan Ltd was expecting its first arrivals of Namibian Flame Seedless.
Ronan Lennon, the company’s managing director, witnessed the consignment being packed at source last month. He said: “Quality is excellent, with many of the grapes coming from award-winning vine blocks. The red seedless grape market will undoubtedly benefit from the boost to quality and availability.”
Namibian exports are likely to reach 4.5 million cartons this season, equivalent to 26 per cent of total early grape availability from the Orange River and Northern Province. The harvest is running to schedule and will bolster early availability of Flame and Thompson Seedless, in a year when the South African crop is late.
Aussenkehr is the main production region in Namibia and accounts for 85 per cent of the export crop. It is a winter rainfall area and therefore particularly well suited to growing fruit for the early export window.
The region has well-developed transport infrastructure and is closer to the South African port of Cape Town than some South African seedless grape areas.
Lennon said: “Capespan recognised the Namibian potential at an early stage and has supported the development of the grape industry, both as technical adviser and with direct involvement through its farm development and ownership company, Rapiprop. Thanks to this commitment, Capespan now benefits from a 55 per cent share of exports, greatly enhancing our early season grape offer.”
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