South African exporter Afrifresh reports enhanced quality control procedures for the upcoming grape season. According to the company's Anton Viljoen, it will be sourcing from fewer growers '[We are] eliminating poor quality packers and taking out growers who did not perform last year, but including two large new high quality growers,' he said. 'We are thereby able to better monitor quality control.' The company will also have to quality assurance inspectors in the field this year and another two monitoring fruit received at port prior to dispatch to ensure it matches individual markets' quality specifications.

The company's main sources are the Marble Hall and Orange River growing areas. It reports that the season in Marble Hall is due to start on time or slightly earlier than usual. The first seedless variety in the supply calendar is Prime which will start its harvest in the middle of next week. Flame Seedless is expected to start two weeks later with seeded variety Black Gem coming on stream a fortnight later. 'We are extremely excited about the quality of Prime and Flame in this area and growers are expecting prices in excess of £24 a carton for the first fruit in the UK,' said Viljoen. The first vessel is expected to arrive in the UK in the last week of November.

The crop from the Orange River region also looks extremely promising and Viljoen is predicting a vintage crop of Thompson and Superior estimated to reach 12million cartons.

But the season will start slightly later than usual, up to two weeks late in the earliest production areas of the region at the end of November. However, harvesting of Flame is expected to start on time in the third week of the month.

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