Bloom Fresh’s premium table grapes receive high marks in Africa competitions
Bloom Fresh, the world’s leading premium fruit-breeding company specializing in table grapes, cherries, and raisins, took top honors during the recent South African and Namibia Block Competitions with their varieties Timco, Timpson, Cotton Candy and Sweet Globe. With South Africa and Namibia continuing market growth for table grape production, Bloom’s best varieties are showing their might […]
Slowdowns at Cape Town port hampers South Africa fruit campaign, poses ‘threat’ to future of industry
The backlog at Cape Town Port has improved, but not in time to save the South African fruit industry from reputational damage, according to a statement by Hortgro. “While things are better, machines still break down and need repair. The export schedule is still lagging,” the industry body said Thursday. “Reputational damage to the fruit […]
Study: Table grape market in UK expected to grow to more than £1.1 billion
Increasing consumer preference for healthy snacks is one of the trends behind a strong estimated market progression for the UK table grape sector, with a recent report by ResearchandMarkets.com projecting a value of £1.1 billion by 2028. The sector has experienced a steady CAGR of 3.47% from its 2021 valuation of £870 million. According to […]
Worldwide production of table grapes rising for the 4th consecutive year
World table grape production is forecast up 1.1 million tonnes to 27.3 million for a fourth straight year of growth, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Favorable growing conditions in China and Turkey more than offset losses in Chile and India. Chile’s production is projected to drop nearly 9% to 725,000 […]
USDA forecasts decline of apples coming into UK from South Africa
The UK’s reliance on apples from South Africa is likely to wane in the coming year because of inflation and other factors, according to a new world trade report on apples, pears and table grapes from the United States Department of Agriculture. The USDA says “shipping delays” combined with stagnation on investment because of increased […]
South African table grapes managed slight increases in production, exports in 21-22
The 2021-22 South African table grape season finished with marginal increases in both production and exports, despite numerous challenges. A total of 77.7 million cartons (4.5kg equivalent) were inspected and passed for export (intakes), a marginal increase of approximately 4 percent, in comparison to last season. Good weather conditions during the season as well as […]
John Pandol speaks out: ‘Volume is vanity. Profit is sanity’
We go back a long ways with the Pandols. When the Pundit was testing his eye teeth in the business, our family company used to split a Chilean shipper with the Pandols and Jack Pandol was the man my father called on to lecture this incipient Pundit when he was still in grade school about the UFW. […]
South African table grape exports to UK down significantly since last year
The South African table grape industry has packed over 6 million more cartons year-on-year, but has shipped 5.2 million cartons fewer to international markets. The delays in the Port of Cape Town remain challenging, with the situation showing some improvement, although still too slow given the peak shipping weeks that are still ahead. Exports to […]