Organic plums from South Africa look set to enjoy a solid harvest this season.
The early Pioneer crop is blossoming now in Riviersondered in the Western Cape, Andrew Poulton of Be Organic told FPJ. Early indications are for a decent crop. “The fruit set is really good, so it looks like it will be a reasonable harvest,” he said.
Reports from Esperence farm at Riviersonderend state that the Pioneer crop has set its first few fruit, although it is now cold, grey and rainy. The Fortune variety is at full blossom and Laetitia is at about 10 per cent. “We have pruned Songold and Laetitia and the bit of Flavour King hard, so the crop will be slightly down, but the quality should be better, including size,” said the farm.
Strong winds across South Africa during the country’s winter may have scarred some of the fruit, but Poulton remains optimistic. “There has been a fair bit of rain so the sizing should be okay and the weather has been warm, so sugar levels will be high,” he said.
Early arrivals of organic Pioneer volumes are expected to hit European shores in the first week of December, followed by Fortune plums in the third week of January and then Laetitia, due to start blossoming on the Eastern Cape in October, at the end of February.
The fruit will be destined for major retailers, niche wholesalers and box schemes, said Poulton. “We are finding that specialist retailers and box schemes are still going well on organics, despite the credit crunch,” he said. “Our turnover is actually up 20 per cent year on year, due to the fact we have diversified.”
Originally a citrus specialist, Be Organic now supplies top fruit from South Africa and recently started European and English supplies too. “We have seen especially strong demand for English product, which is quite exciting for us,” said Poulton.
This will be the firm’s third year handling stonefruit from the Western Cape in South Africa and its second with fruit from the Eastern Cape.
Be Organic markets its South African fruit under the Sun Valley Bio Fruit brand and also trialled some containers of organic South African avocados recently, which Poulton reports were well received. “We also have growers in Sicily, and are now getting our first melons, aubergines and courgettes from there.
“Diversifying while keeping our core business going has really helped us to expand,” Poulton added.
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