Affected farmers are counting the costs.
Grabouw is known as prime apple and pear country. Finally, after several years of dire conditions, growers are excited about their harvest.
Industry and producer’s body, Hortgro, says 2020 was a much better winter with enough rain in most of the production areas. The result is high quality, promising fruit.
The apple harvest is predicted to be 38 million cartons. Pears are expected to reach nearly 18 million cartons, which is an increase of 5%.
Earlier this week, however, strong winds in the Grabouw and Vyeboom area caused great concern. This while the harvest is in full swing.
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CEO of Agri Western Cape, Jannie Strydom, says Grabouw is an important area for fruit production in the country.
“This time of the year, producers are concerned about hail damage. Storm winds usually occur in the winter and when the fruit has already been harvested and the trees are at rest. The Grabouw area is a very important fruit producing region, not just for our province, but the country as a whole and it’s a pity that producers had to suffer damage,” says Strydom.
Hortgro, however, says it’s unlikely the damage will impact the overall harvest.
The pome fruit harvest is under way with positive expectations for 2021. Last year saw a much better winter with enough rain in the majority of the production areas. Cooler weather during spring and the flowering period has resulted in a good crop. Growers in general are excited about the season ahead as colour and packouts are looking promising.
The season is estimated to be 5 – 10 days later; however, the later cultivars could still catch up. Overall, most apples varieties are expected to increase on the 2020 harvest.
Young orchards that will come into production, as well as the favourable weather conditions, have positively impacted the export crop estimate.
An increase of 4% is expected on apples and 2% on pears. The increase in pears can be attributed to Packham’s Triumph volumes (+6%) and Abate Fetel returning to a normal yield. At this stage Early Bon Chretien pears have been negatively affected by russeting and a decrease of 14% is estimated compared to the previous season. The Langkloof region experienced a severe hail storm during the second week of January 2021. The hail was localized between the Haarlem and Misgund areas.
Fruit size from the orchards that were not affected is looking better and higher packouts are anticipated.
