Good SA table grape
crop realised despite
ongoing drought
Clayton Swart
SATI
T
he South African Table Grape Industry
(SATI) realised a good table grape crop
of just over 62 million cartons (4,5 kg
equivalent cartons) despite producers
facing the worst drought ever recorded in the
Western parts of the country.
According to Fanie Naudé, newly elected
Chairperson of the SATI Board, the South
African table grape season, which has just
ended is 8% lower than the record 67,5 million
cartons crop of the previous season. “Despite
this decrease a good crop was realised amidst
the third year of drought faced by three of our
five production regions.”
AgriKultuur |AgriCulture
Although there is sufficient water in the two
early summer rainfall production regions
namely the Northern Provinces and Orange
River Region, we were convinced the harvest
would be bigger. In the end the Orange River
region was hampered by smaller berries and
lower bunch weights, as a result they packed
7% less than last season. The summer rains
did not affect the harvest in the Northern
Provinces Region, which reached a record
crop of 6 million cartons – the only region that
improved on last season’s figures.
The Olifants River region experienced
heatwaves early in December that damaged
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