SATI STATISTICS OF TABLE GRAPES IN SOUTH AFRICA 2020

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The 2019/2020 South African table grape harvest ended on a three-year high with a volume of 66,15 million cartons (4.5 kg equivalent) inspected for export, signalling a full recovery after a prolonged drought. This is in line with the three crop estimates issued during the

NATI ONAL I NFORMATI ON

season, keeping in mind the impact of damaging rain during the start of the harvest for the Northern Provinces and Hex River regions, respectively. The Berg River and Olifants River regions had good harvesting conditions leading to higher than expected intake volumes while the Orange River region remained on course with good volumes. The impact of Coronavirus in China, which occurred in the middle of the South African table grape season, led to some uncertainty during January and February. Trading came to a standstill as the Chinese New Year was extended and many parts of the country went into lockdown leading to a slight decrease in exports to that region. In South Africa, the national lockdown came into effect from 27 March 2020 when the Berg and Hex River regions were in the final few weeks of the harvest. The South African Government exempted the agricultural sector from lockdown restrictions thereby allowing these regions to finalise their harvests and exports. Fortunately, the 2019/2020 table grape harvest was therefore not severely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Overall, the lower than estimated intakes in some regions were more than covered for by other regions exceeding their estimates. This once again points to the favourable geographical and climatic diversity of South Africa’s 5 production regions.

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TERM

DEFINITION

INTAKE EXPORT VARIETY

Produce inspected and passed for export

Produce is seen as EXPORTED once the ship leaves South Africa’s shores

Cultivar

PPECB

Perishable Products Export Control Board

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SATI STATISTICS 2020