Africa-Press – Namibia. NAMIBIA exported nine million 4,5kg cartons of grapes this year, more than initially expected and surpassing previous exports of 8,5 million cartoons in the 2020/21 season.
According to the online farming publication, FreshPlaza.com, grape markets in Europe and the United Kingdom are strong and prices are definitely above last year’s.
“In Namibia, it was a very good season, ending at around 5% above our first estimate of 8,6 million cartons,” said Kobus Bothma, the vice chairperson of the Namibian Grape Growers Association.
About 2% of production in Namibia is also allocated to the domestic market, and good quality grapes are available in outlets all over the country throughout the grape season, said FreshPlaza.com
The publication said logistics had improved from the previous season, with more containers available and the port of Cape Town working more effectively.
“It was a good season for Namibian growers. We’ve been very fortunate: not far from us, on the other side of the Orange River, growers have had a tough year, but here in Namibia we’re very happy with the season we had.
“We experienced good weather during flowering, with enough bunches on the vines and really very good quality grapes,” said Bothma.
He observed that berry size and colour was good, and wastage during packing was low, which resulted in high packing speeds.
It was a short and sharp season and the final cultivars ended very quickly, Bothma noted.
“As a result of the inspections undertaken by the Namibian Agronomic Board since 2015, Namibian export quality has improved to such an extent that receivers ask for Namibian products, which has become very sought-after. Our dry climate is excellent for good quality and shelf life.”
At the moment, growers are cleaning up the vineyards and the raisin-drying beds are full with the very last Namibian grapes to make raisins.
“We are already looking forward to next season and we are very grateful for a good season,” said Bothma.
According to FreshPlaza, the supply of grapes in many markets is tight at the moment, for a number of reasons.
A number of large producing countries started their season late last year, particularly Peru and South Africa.
The political unrest in Peru has been the cause of this for some countries, including the United States, as it brought some growing operations to a standstill.
“The growing season in South Africa has been strongly affected by heavy rainfall, hail and heat, leading to a reversal in the market’s growing trend over the last few years,” said the publication.
The season in India was also delayed by up to 20 days, but prospects for the rest of the season are good.
In other markets, such as Spain and Italy, supply is not the issue so much as demand where consumers faced with rising prices and economic downturn, are opting out of buying grapes.
As the season has only just started for many countries, however, how the rest of the year will go remains to be seen, said FreshPlaza.
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