Irrigation control has long been part of the picture for most operations.

The overseas citrus season is just about to end and there is a slow shift to products from Spain. A German importer of citrus fruit from overseas reviews the past season: "There are still stocks from South Africa, Argentina and Uruguay and sometimes Chile, but most supermarket supplies will be sold this or next week."

Will the 2018/2019 season be the most exciting onion campaign in years? Worldwide, the weather has had a major impact on the harvests. Not only Europe was plagued by heat, the mercury also rose high in California. Other parts of the US recorded a lot of rain, and the news coming from Asia were also not all good. 

At the start of the 2017/18 apple season, European apple stocks were approximately 30% lower, creating a great pull for South African apples, but it’s expected that the start of the new season will be tougher, as Europe expects a slightly above average crop.

All of the plant material for South Africa’s banana industry comes from a single tissue culture laboratory, which also exports to 25 countries throughout Africa, the Middle East and the Indian Ocean islands.

These are challenging times for SA farmers, whether viewed from the perspective of rising input costs or the weather outlook. In a few weeks the 2018-2019 summer crop production season will start on a negative note, partly due to rising costs of agricultural inputs such as fertiliser and fuel.