First supplies of South African Royal Gala are now on the water headed for the UK, with arrivals expected in the third week of February.
“The fruit is looking good on quality and we’re confident of having a good season,” said Capespan commercial director Martin Dunnett.
He said volumes are likely to be quite heavy, despite drought conditions in South Africa.
“The volumes might seem surprising because of the droughts, but the dams have worked hard and we’ve been able to get water to the trees.”
David Pratt, commercial director with Empire World Trade, said the drought had had an impact however: “While volumes are good, the fruit is small, but it’s very sweet and tasty.”
Dunnett said the size issue was not likely to be a problem for the UK though: “The UK market always sells reasonable quantities of smaller sized fruit compared to other markets, so it means there will be plenty of fruit available.”
He said Capespan expected to be marketing around 15 per cent more Royal Gala this season.
On Golden Delicious, he said the South African fruit was good in both volume and quality and would be in demand on the UK market, following a poor French season. “We’re expecting fruit to start arriving in the first week of April, but it’s a big crop and I think there will be a push to get some early fruit to market.
“The industry will be looking to sell plenty of volumes before our CA volumes start coming through in the first part of June.”
Meanwhile hailstorms and drought in Brazil are being blamed for a fall in the country’s apple crop, with reports suggesting volumes may be down by up to a third.
The drop means exports are now expected to fall by 45 per cent, both due to the fall in production and a decision by exporters to restrict sending of smaller-sized apples.
Quality of the fruit is reported to be good, although there will be some russetting.
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