South Africa's table grape sector faces a challenging record export season, exports to Russia plunge 21%

Recently, the South African Table Grape Industry (SATI) said this year could be the largest export season in the industry's history. However, affected by multiple factors including domestic and international logistics in South Africa, rising input costs and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, this season is also one of the most challenging production seasons for the industry.

In recent years, South Africa's table grape production has shown a trend of increasing year by year. According to data published by SATI, as of week 11, South Africa's total table grape production reached 74,618,445 boxes. Calculated at 4.5kg per box, total production has reached 336,000 tonnes, an increase of 9.1% compared with the same period last year and a sharp increase of 17.4% compared with the same period in 2020.

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In terms of exports, South Africa's table grape exports to Europe, Canada, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Africa have exceeded the level of the same period last year. However, exports to Russia fell sharply by 21% compared with the same period last year, and exports to Asia, the United States and the Far East were also affected.

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SATI said it is exploring all possible avenues to solve the problems facing the industry. The association held a meeting with South Africa's Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development Thoko Didiza to discuss the impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on South Africa's fruit industry. Major players in South Africa's fruit industry drafted a document at the meeting, putting forward suggestions on issues such as logistics, improving port efficiency, tariff reviews and market development.

SATI said the association has been in contact with Transnet over the past few months regarding port operations. Transnet is South Africa's state-owned transport company, operating South Africa's major ports including the Port of Durban and the Port of Cape Town, as well as South Africa's main rail network. SATI hopes to continue to maintain contact with Transnet to improve port operating efficiency so that fruit can arrive at the market in the best condition.

Table grape harvesting in South Africa is still ongoing, and total production has reached the previously forecast 72.8 million to 77.7 million boxes. In terms of harvesting in the production regions, the harvest season has ended in the northern provinces and the Orange River and Olifants River regions, while harvesting in the Berg River and Hex River regions will continue for another 2 weeks. Among them, production in the Berg River region is expected to exceed 19.7 million boxes, and production in the Hex River region is expected to exceed 24.3 million boxes.