South Africa Commences Table Grape Harvest Season

Currently, it is the grape harvesting and export season in the Southern Hemisphere. The estimated table grape production for the 2023/24 season in South Africa is 73 million cartons (4.5-kilogram equivalent), approximately 329,000 metric tons, representing a 12% increase compared to the 2022/23 season. According to a newsletter released by the South African Table Grape Industry, 6.1 million cartons or around 27,500 metric tons of table grapes had undergone export inspection as of week 48, marking a 20% decrease from the previous season due to a delayed start in the current season. The top three varieties for export include Prime Seedless, Early Sweet and Tawny Seedless.

In Peru, another crucial table grape supplier in the Southern Hemisphere, table grape production for the 2023/24 season is anticipated to reach 1.18 billion cartons, comprising 61% white seedless grapes, 27% red seedless grapes and 5% black seedless grapes. As of week 48, 57 million cartons were packaged. Chile’s estimated production is at 1.16 billion cartons, with a packaging volume of 188,000 cartons as of week 48.

Currently, table grape harvesting is underway in three producing regions, namely, the Northern Provinces, Orange River and Olifants River.

The Northern Provinces region focuses on exports, with many importers requiring red seedless grapes from there. In week 48, local producers began packaging black seedless grapes. During the following week, the primary varieties packed included Early Sweet, Prime Seedless and Starlight. The region is reportedly packaging Tawny, ARRA 33 and ARRA 29 varieties.

The Orange River region has almost completed the packaging of Prime Seedless and Early Sweet varieties. The Onseepkans and Blouputs areas are currently packaging the Flame variety, while grapes in the Augrabies and Rooipad areas are still undergoing coloring. Overall, the grape quality and size are excellent for this season.

In the Olifants River region, some facilities started packaging the Prime Seedless variety from week 49. It is expected that more facilities will begin packaging Early Sweet and Tawny varieties in week 50, but the majority of facilities will commence in week 51. The local weather is expected to be favorable for the next 10 days.

The Berg River region is expected to start packaging in week 51, beginning with the Starlight and Prime Seedless varieties. Local grapevines are in good condition, with grapes of satisfactory size overall.

The Hex River region is projected to rebound from the low yield of the previous season, with production expected to reach long-term average levels. The region is set to commence packaging the Starlight and ARRA 29 varieties in weeks 51 and 52.

Image: Pixabay

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