Sati warns that protecting established markets must be the strategic priority as port disruptions and rising competition weigh on returns
Europe and the UK remained South Africa’s largest export destinations for table grapes last season, together accounting for 86 per cent of total exports.
Industry body Sati noted that Europe received 52.1mn cartons during the campaign, representing a 16 per cent increase on the previous season.
Competing Southern Hemisphere suppliers, particularly Peru and Brazil, also increased shipments in the same marketing window.
South African exports to the UK declined 6 per cent to 13.5mn cartons, and exports to North America fell sharply due to tariffs and exchange rate pressure.
“These trends illustrate the importance of market retention,” said Sati.
“While important milestones were achieved during the year – including South Africa’s first commercial exports to the Philippines, temporary tariff-free access to China and the conclusion of the export protocol for the Republic of Korea – the industry’s strategic priority must increasingly shift towards protecting and strengthening its position in established markets.”
Ensuring that table grapes remain a preferred fruit choice for consumers will be essential to supporting sustainable prices in an increasingly competitive global marketplace, it continued.
The organisation outlined that last season started earlier than usual following warmer weather before and during the early production period, resulting in peak harvest and export volumes occurring earlier than usual.
“These higher early-season volumes coincided with severe wind disruptions and operational constraints at the Port of Cape Town, creating significant congestion during the busiest export period,” it pointed out.
”Disruptions resulted in stock build-ups, vessel delays and diversion of fruit to alternative ports.”
The Port of Cape Town’s share of table grape exports declined from 91 per cent during the previous season to 76 per cent, while exports through Eastern Cape ports increased from 6 per cent to 21 per cent.
While this strategy provided essential additional capacity, the diversions came at substantially higher cost to producers.
Encouragingly, four of South Africa’s five production regions met or exceeded their crop estimates.
Only the Hex River Region fell slightly below expectations following rainfall during the latter part of the harvest.
