South African top fruit traders minimise exposure to European market

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Europe is moving closer to self-sufficiency in pears and one encounters European pears in an increasing array of places, like the Middle East or the Far East, say South African pear traders.

The difficulty that South Africa encounters in the EU and UK this season is part of a long term trend in which the marketing window becomes slimmer for imported top fruit from the Southern Hemisphere, as Europe gives preference to its own fruit.

The transition between Northern and Southern Hemisphere supply has been bumpy. Everyone’s strategy is to avoid Europe this season, several traders tell FreshPlaza, but nowhere else have there been golden opportunities.

“Forelle has lost its lustre”
“Forelle is, after Packham's Triumph, the biggest export pear variety and the German market has become oversupplied. Therefore everyone’s looking for alternative markets,” says Gert Marais, category manager of top fruit at Delecta Fruit.

South African exporters have had to step away from the well-supplied European market, but there are insufficient options, says Thomas Mouton, top fruit marketing manager at Corefruit. Europe has enough Conference and Abate Fetel pears, making the Middle East, which likes a blush pear, the preferred recipient of Forelle. It has become more difficult to realise premium prices on Forelle, either in Europe or in the Middle East.

The first Forelle shipments are on the water, with harvesting tapering off this week.

Furthermore, the re-instatement of US sanctions against Iran has been a blow for the South African pear trade. “In the past large volumes of South African pears went to Iran via Dubai but with the renewed sanctions, banks find it difficult to obtain foreign currency. It’s a large segment of the Middle Eastern market that has closed for us,” Gert points out.

The top fruit market is elsewhere also under pressure. Russia is very tough, very price-sensitive with a lot of class 2 fruit and, one exporter points out, poses a large risk from a credit perspective.

Canada is a good market (mostly retail but some wholesale market) for certain varieties – Bartlett (Williams, or Bon Chretien), Packham and Forelle pears, Granny Smiths – but looking for large sizes.

When China opens for South African pears, which has been on the cusp of accomplishment for some years now, it will relieve pressure in the pear market. Chinese inspectors visited South Africa two weeks ago and now the industry is awaiting their feedback.

India's protocol congests the cold chain
India’s insistence on land-based cooling, versus in-transit cooling as is common practice, presents an ongoing challenge to the industry. South Africa has executed trials to show the success of in-transit cooling, but for the present the fruit destined for India has to be stored in cold rooms for 12 days before being loaded, congesting cold rooms in the process.

It is a large and promising market, one for which South African exporters can’t afford not to go the extra mile, while hoping for regulations to be eased, as they’ve been waiting for a handful of years now. (It is speculated that India, in its turn, is waiting for certain concessions regarding its mangoes.)

Heatwave setback for Packham pears
No conversation about South African top fruit proceeds without reference to the heatwave in October last year, which has seriously knocked Packham volumes on the pear side, and red apples (for instance Top Red) on the apple side.


Author: Carolize Jansen