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Viticulture
Dried fruit is produced mainly in the Western
Cape, the South-western Districts, Northern Cape, the Little Karoo, the Olifants
River area and the Lower and Upper Orange River area. Tree fruit, as opposed to
vine fruit, are dried mainly in the Western Cape and the South-western
Districts.
The most important dried fruit products are
Thompson seedless raisins, golden sultanas, unbleached sultanas, hanepoot
raisins, prunes, peaches, and apricots. The quantities of dried fruit produced
vary per fruit type, depending on the factors that influence production and also
the competition offered by alternative marketing channels. Apricots are
mainly produced in the Little Karoo and prunes are grown almost exclusively in
the Tulbagh district in the Western Cape. Most raisins are produced in the area
along the Lower Orange River and most currants come from the Vredendal district.
According to Dried Fruit Technical Services,
it is estimated that the production of dried fruit in 2000 will amount to
approximately 43 058 tons, which is 12% less than in 1999. This can be
attributed to the warm winter in 2000 with very little rain up to the beginning
of August 2000, which resulted in trees blossoming prematurely. The late rain
also adversely affected blossoming and pollination.
The
golden sultana crop is expected to decrease by 53% in 2000 compared to 1999. It
is also expected that the production of prunes will decrease by 38%, while the
production of pears will increase by 69% during 2000. A dramatic increase in the
production of dried apples is also expected in 2000 compared to 1999.
|
Fruit
type |
1996 |
1997 |
1998 Tons |
1999 |
2000* |
|
Sultana
type Unbleached Golden
Thompson
seedless raisins Currants Raisins |
3
593 5
154 19
586 1
473 271 |
9
300 6
945 23
950 1
730 59 |
3
700 6
912 16
451 1
181 91 |
5
097 8
539 26
722 1
702 534 |
4
709 4
028 27
622 1
463 320 |
|
Total
vine fruit |
31
545 |
44
228 |
30
035 |
44
692 |
38
142 |
|
Prunes Apricots Apples Peaches Pears Figs Other
(fruit spreads)** |
1
468 1
211 232 1
209 396 1 100 |
2
244 1
657 262 1
215 712 1 0 |
1
700 1
500 314 1
492 766 0 0 |
2
098 1
848 79 1
526 697 0 0 |
1
300 1
022 200 1
214 1
180 0 0 |
|
Total
tree fruit |
3
149 |
3
847 |
4
072 |
4
150 |
4
916 |
|
Grand
total |
34
694 |
48
075 |
34
107 |
48
842 |
43
058 |
*
Preliminary
**Statistics
not available since 1997
Both
the local marketing and exporting of dried fruit are free from government
intervention. However, in the case of exports, phytosanitary requirements and
quality standards must be adhered to.
The
volume of dried fruit exported decreased by 7,6% to approximately 30 million kg
during 1999. International prices were also lower during 1999, which caused a
dramatic drop in income to growers.
The following graphs depict dried fruit
export destinations during 1999:
Viticulture