The apple export to China went very well for South Africa this year, according to Jacques Du Preez of HortGro. He explains there were no problems in terms of restrictions, shipping or sticking to the protocol.
“The volume was still small but we knew from the first year that it wouldn’t be an explosion. We started shipping in March/April this year and we have sent 15,000 cartons (12.5kg) of Royal Galas and Fuji. The spec that the Chinese require is a difficult one. They prefer larger and highly coloured red fruit, and there aren’t many of these around. This is one of the reasons more wasn’t sent, but I’m positive that it will grow next year.”
Although people aren’t planting specifically for the Chinese market, Jacques indicates that some are planting varieties that the Chinese prefer.
“In any case, there has been a move towards more redder strains in Galas, but this is a natural progression. We also always try to grow bigger fruit, as South Africa isn’t known for large sizes at the moment.”
Jacques explains that the greener varieties are more for the east of Africa, such as the Golden Delicious. Around 80% of this variety is exported within Africa, the main market being Nigeria. A lot of the other ones, Braeburn, Pink Lady/Cripps’ Pink, and some Granny Smith go to the UK, as different markets have different requirements.
“I wouldn’t say that growers specifically plant for any single market. They might grow bigger and redder for the east.”
In 2014 Chile had a lot of Galas that they sent to the UK, which meant that the South African volume to the UK last season was down substantially. However, Jacques says that they have made a comeback into the UK this season, as the volumes are up significantly.
“We normally stop shipping to the UK around this time of year, September/October, but we ship to Africa until January. The UK has been very strong this year, but Africa has also done quite well. We are up on last year and still have another two, three months to go. It will be a tight competition between Africa and the UK as to who was the biggest market for South African apples this year.”
Earlier in the year there was speculation that exports to Africa would be down due to the falling oil price, but this has not been the case. HortGro carried out an interesting analysis on the oil vs prices in Nigeria and imports into Nigeria. The results showed that historically there is no correlation. For the last three year it has been oil prices down and exports up.
“The pears were also slightly down on last year,” Jacques says. “However on average it was still an all right season. The increases in hectares which we have seen over the last five to ten years will mean you will see a gradual increase in exports as well. In hind sight, at this time last year we were rather anxious due to the large stocks in Europe. But I think it has turned out all right. It’s an acceptable season.”
