The overall cherry harvest for 2011 is expected to show a vast improvement over that of last year. However, continuing problems with hail in Free State have resulted in poor harvests from that region.
Dr Koos Pretorius, cherry farmer and chairman of the SA Cherry Growers’ Association, said that the cherry industry in the southern Free State was in chaos. “The province had a lot of hail and storms so the cherry harvest is small. Most farmers are harvesting about 70kg a day instead of the usual ton,” he said.
Pretorius added that the quality of cherries from Free State was not high, but those from Mpumalanga were better. “Mpumalanga has fewer problems, as most of the orchards are covered. Cherries are a high-risk crop because they are so susceptible to hail and frost. If you don’t cover the orchard you are wasting your time,” he explained.
Pretorius said that Mpumalanga had made up for the lack of cherries from Free State and more cherries were being exported than last year. About 15t of cherries were exported from South Africa last season, mostly to the Middle East, Europe and the UK.
Arno Marais, production manager at fruit producer Dutoit Group, said that the erratic weather in Western Cape had affected the crop there.
“The harvest should be better than last year’s but the hot and cold weather was not ideal for the cherries,” he said. Marais expected the price of cherries to be higher than last year’s as local demand was good.
Pretorius noted that the cherry price had remained high because of limited availability. “The price on the local market has remained more or less the same as last year’s at R45/kg to R80/kg, depending on the quality.” – Lindi van Rooyen
