The situation in the European table grape market has been quite challenging. Because of the large volumes supplied by Peru, German, Dutch and French traders have at times had to deal with extremely low prices, especially at the beginning of the season.
2018 was an ‘on year’ for the avocado. The UK and Europe alone consumed over 650 million kilos of avocados and the European avocado market remains one of the fastest growing markets worldwide.
It’s cooler and wetter in northeast Limpopo than it has been for a while after rain this weekend but the Tzaneen Dam in the Letaba River is nevertheless lower than last week, a discomforting 12.7% full. The Middle Letaba Dam stands at about 6% (and hasn’t been close to capacity in a long time).
A South African citrus producer not only managed to bump up its production by 40% through new acquisitions this year, but also bolstered its successful black workers’ economic empowerment programme in the process.
The decrease in the total gross producer value (GPV) of maize for 2019 will be limited by increased maize prices. Due to the severe drought in 2016 the increased price levels maintained the gross producer value of production. It is thus expected to be the case in 2019 as well.
It’s not raining enough in the Eastern Cape and it’s definitely going to have an impact on volumes, citrus growers say. By the end of February there will be more certainty on what can be expected from the citrus season, but across the Eastern Cape – in the Gamtoos Valley, Sundays River Valley and inland in the Kat River Valley – the mood is cautious.
