A slump in South African stonefruit production that will strike a “serious blow” to producers is anticipated for the 2006-07 season, according to the Stone Fruit Joint Marketing Forum (SFJMF).

A SFJMF report shows that apricot volumes for the 2006-07 season are set to be down an estimated 42 per cent on the three-year average from 2003-06, with the crop forecast at 566,362 4.75-kilo cartons, and peach production is expected to drop 25 per cent to 742,125 2.5kg cartons.

The apricot and peach crops were the worst-affected by rain in the flowering period, said André Smit, at the Le Roux Group: “The detrimental effect on farm-gate income will be a serious blow.”

But the outlook is better for plums. A slight gap is expected between volumes of Sapphire and the peak of Pioneer which will be positive for the industry, said Smit

Topics