South African farmers are lining up to plant more rooibos tea as demand for the anti-oxidant-rich red brew it produces grows, but a natural limit on suitable land may mean supply will struggle to keep pace.

The numbers released on February 27 by SA’s crop estimates committee underscores the message of optimism about agricultural conditions carried in my column on February 20.

The Crop Estimates Committee has just released the revised area estimate and first production forecast of summer crops.

Lemon volumes are picking up from the north of the country. Very early lemons have been harvested since the beginning of the year on Alicedale Estates, “opening batsman for South Africa’s lemon campaign”, quips producer Peter Nicholson in Tshipise, the very north of the country. The harvest is a nice, good average, he says.

In the winter months, the demand for melons in North America and Europe is traditionally lower, since the winter weather keeps the demand in check. The mood on the market is determined by the supply from Latin America.

The European market presents a challenge to the South African grape industry but one which has just emphasised again the importance of retail programmes, says Clayton Swart, Communications and Market Development Manager at the South African Table Grape Industry (SATI).