The roots of the commercial grape business in Namibia began to sprout in the late-1980s, as entrepreneurs on the northern side of the Orange River saw the potential of their land for replicating developments already taking place on the South African side of the water.
Two decades on and the country is now a key component of the early southern hemisphere grape calendar, producing around 15,000 tonnes of grape annually. Particularly high summertime temperatures - as high as 50°C - bring the grape season forward and provide a competitive advantage of a window unmatched throughout the grape-growing world. The early November peak picking period is always in advance of anywhere else in the southern hemisphere. In years such as this, when availability is particularly low in the UK market as the Namibian window opens, its grapes become as valuable - in the programme if not the pocket - as the nation’s more famous export - gold.
The country’s government has provided incentives for its agriculture industry and its support has extended as far as investment in one of the bigger export firms, the Namibia Grape Company, which was set up as a private-public sector venture ostensibly to open up opportunities for the previously disadvantaged Namibian farmer. The industry provides direct or indirect employment for well over 10,000 Namibians and is the largest employer in some of the country’s least developed regions.
There has inevitably been a great deal of South African influence on Namibia’s grape evolution, but a Yugoslav, Dusan Vasiljevic, is credited as the lead pioneer in the area. In the Karas region, his Aussenkehr Farms or International Grape Company (IGC), which he purchased in the late 1980s, is responsible for around a third of overall production. A deal which is in the final stages of negotiation with Capespan gives the South African exporting giant exclusive marketing rights for Vasiljevic’s fruit. Through Rapriprop, the Capespan (40 per cent) Fyffes (40 per cent) African Alliance (20 per cent) investment alliance, which was set up in 2005 with the view to making strategic investments into agricultural properties, the deal would also lead to part ownership of the land for the alliance.
As with any fledgling industry, the early days featured some ups and downs. The quality of Namibia’s fruit was questionable at times and its performance on the world export markets therefore sketchy. Returns back to growers were limited by the quality of grape available, which in turn stunted progress to an extent.
However, one of the major advantages of being a new kid on the block in this trade is that the drawing board is clean. Investment can be channelled into areas that suit today’s market, unhindered by past baggage.
Namibia therefore finds itself with a portfolio of varieties and an infrastructure that is in tune with the demands of its biggest potential customers - the UK supermarkets above all. It is consistently 10 days earlier than Orange River with Thompson Seedless, for instance, which continues to top the wanted list for UK buyers. The season then moves through Sugraone, Crimson and Flame Seedless, and plantings have been made with an eye very much on the core European market.
The quality of the fruit being shipped has improved markedly. “When Namibia first came on the scene, it did not have the board regulations [that governed SA fruit] and was therefore not quite working to the same standards,” says Capespan’s UK commercial director Martin Dunnett. “The South African industry was developing the Orange River region to complement its production in the Western Cape.”
The Western Cape grape barons were largely making their money out of seeded fruit at the time and strategically, the move into the Orange River was a move that reflected the emerging popularity of seedless strains. The political pressure placed on the new region has since been recognised as a driver in its success. But early efforts to move these standards across the border were only partially successful.
Since the turn of the Millennium, however, the landscape has changed. Once marketers recognised that the Orange River in SA was limited in its earliness and the head-start available on the other side of the river, the interest in taking Namibia’s product onto another level grew exponentially.
Achilles de Naeyer, grower (Nagrapex), packer and exporter (Grape Valley Packers) and chairman of the Orange River Table Grape Growers’ Association (NORTGA) has also been involved from the outset in the Namibian job. “The last decade has seen a very rapid evolution in the Namibian table-grape industry and more specifically in its export potential to all international markets,” he says. “Today, exporting from Namibia is a sophisticated business: our packing, cooling and logistical operations match the expertise around the world. Major growers and exporters are involved and we have the full support of the major shipping lines, which are keen to have that early volumes to ship prior to the main export season. Containers are source loaded, sealed and delivered into the distribution depots or our clients overseas.”
“The arrival of some of the bigger players on the scene in Namibia has certainly concentrated the minds of growers and the discipline that was perhaps lacking a few years back has been instilled now,” says Dunnett. “The production standards have improved to the stage where yields are between 4,000 and 5,000 cartons a hectare, in line with elsewhere, the logistics are very well organised and the product is duty free for Europe, which is a big advantage.”
The upping of standards has allowed Namibia to extend its marketing window and take its rightful place on-shelf alongside other southern hemisphere fruit. “The UK market and its leading retailers were a big support and the drivers behind the initial development,” de Naeyer says. “At that time we were filling a niche market, ahead of the Orange River South Africa, and Brazil was not yet in the early grape business. Today, we share that market and have obtained a place on the shelf with the major retailers.
“Niche markets change and become normal markets and attract competition. And in the same way that buyers are spreading their buying power and diversifying geographically, so producers/exporters have to dothe same. Today, Namibia has a more balanced export market, relying less on the so-called traditional markets in Europe and taking advantage of our logistical strength to ship more into the Middle and Far East.” The seeded Red Globe volume is very much in demand in Asia, he adds as an illustration.
While the major percentage of production continues to be the market-leading red and white seedless varieties, there is a constant drive to replace older vines with new cultivars from California and Israel, which produce higher yields and are less labour intensive,” says de Naeyer. “Last, but by no means least, we are always looking for better-tasting varieties.”
Seedless varieties are accepted in all international markets, which is a good option, he adds. But seeded varieties - mainly Red Globe but also a few dark and white seeded strains - do well in Asia, continental, central and southern Europe.
Capespan has gradually increased its presence and the deal with IGC would make it the biggest player in the region. “We have been working with IGC for the last three years,” says Sarel Joubert, Capespan UK’s SA procurement director, “and we are in the final stages of a deal that see us marketing all of its fruit this season. There are a few Is and Ts to be dotted. Basically, Namibia is a great strategic option as the risk of rainfall is far less than in some early South African areas. We want to get more involved in Namibia in the next few years and market a higher percentage of the country’s crop.
“As we have done in South Africa, we are looking, through Rapriprop, to invest in production areas and assist growers in attaining standards such as Nature’s Choice and EurepGAP.” The eventual aim of course, being to ensure the constant and consistent availability of grape of a standard that suits the Capespan customer network.”
As well as hitting UK and European standards, Namibia has also had access to the US market granted this season, which opens up a new avenue of opportunity, albeit at a time when Chile, for example, has competitive early fruit in the north American market. The African Growth and Opportunities Act (Agoa), a trade and development programme launched five years ago in the US, allows African countries to export their countries duty and quota free to that market.
“Namibian table grapes can be exported to the US, under certain phytosanitary conditions. Of course, this is a hugeopportunity. The customer base has already been developed - it’s merely a technical challenge of cold-treatment and fumigation. We fit in, along with Brazil, to bridge the gap between the old crop from California and the major Chilean volumes,” says de Naeyer.
“NORTGA is co-operating with other southern hemisphere countries, exchanging views on research, exports, and the signing of protocols to export to new emerging markets such as China, India and Taiwan. We are also the force behind the protocol with the US,” he adds.
Dunnett says that the opening of the US market “will take some pressure off the European market, without diluting Namibia’s availability”.
The forecast for the Aussenkehr Valley this season is for approximately 3.6-4 million 4.5kg equivalent cartons for export, says de Naeyer. “We are more or less on the same timeframe as last year, as far as harvest and export is concerned. Depending on the variety, we are mostly ahead of the Orange River South Africa with Thompson, Flame and Red Globe and on a par with Prime and Early Sweet, both white seedless varieties. This does not change our plans, we just ship earlier and are earlier in the marketplace and finish our season by end of December.”
“At the moment, the season looks very good,” says Leon van Biljon, of Dole South Africa. “The timings are slightly different to last season, a little earlier when compared with Orange River, which works very much in growers’ favour. Sugars are looking quite high and it also seems to be a large sized year.
“Flame picking started this week, which is very early and the sizing profile is large and extra large, which is ideal for the UK customers who are screaming for grape at the moment after all the rain in Brazil and elsewhere. The voices of the rest of Europe are being drowned out at the moment by UK buyers and there is a strong focus here on the next two pack weeks for the UK.
“Namibia is a vital part of our long-term grape strategy,” van Biljon says. “And it has come a long way in the last few years. We are committed to investing in there, to increase the consistency and quality of the product to a uniform level.”
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