Table grape growers in the Hex River Valley region of South Africa, and further afield, are happy that the weather held up very nicely for them to have a healthy 2024/25 harvest season. Brothers Gabriël and Reynecke Viljoen, from the farm De Vlei in the Hex River, "It is the first time in many years that we did not have any rain in any of our production areas during harvest time. The grapes we are exporting are healthy and we expect good arrivals. It is fantastic to not have had a drop of rain so far in the Hex and we are very optimistic about the grapes that we could and still can place into the boxes."
Team Trawal put in extra effort and dedication during the 2024/2025 table grape season!
The Viljoens are fifth-generation table grape growers in the Hex, with De Vlei as their well-established farm in the upper Hex Valley (locally known as the "Bo-Vallei"). They have also expanded to own farms in South Africa's earlier grape-growing regions of Vioolsdrift in the Northern Cape as well as in Trawal, situated in the Olifants River region, and Piketberg in the Berg River. Reynecke is the production and technical manager while Gabriël is the financial manager of the farming group and family business.
Reynecke reflects on the earlier areas, which have finished packing for the season. "Our harvest was slightly lighter than the previous year in the Northern Cape and in Trawal we finished the same as last year, although we hoped for a slightly larger crop. This correlates with the industry figures of the Northern Cape and Olifants River.
The Viljoens are known for trialing new cultivars in the industry. This stems from their well-known father Leon Viljoen, chairman of the group, and his ongoing curiosity and passion for table grape farming. Each year they also welcome and host guests from around the world who come and view the trial blocks and cultivar performance.
"In the Hex River, the Crimson is lighter this year which will mean an earlier end of the season for most. On the other hand, we are very excited about our Autumncrisp. All of our remaining Autumncrisp is either grown under plastic or covered with paper bags and therefore protected from rain. Being situated in the upper valley of the Hex, which is the latter part, it presents us with a huge opportunity for the export and local markets towards the end of the season. Autumncrisp has the potential to service this late window - if you get it right, it has the potential to do really well."
Due to the foresight of Leon Viljoen, they were the first in South Africa to plant, Sweet Celebration, Sweet Globe, Sweet Joy, Cotton Candy, Candy Hearts, Sweet Sapphire, Sweet Nectar, Candy Snaps.
Other cultivars that stand out for them are Sweet Globe and Sweet Celebration. "Despite these being lighter and uneven this season, they are two cultivars that do stand out. It provides consistently good production. There's merit in having such cultivars for farmers to be financially sustainable. The newer cultivars provide growers with a beautiful consistent harvest year-on-year.
"Two varieties that we are excited about are Fire Crunch and Honey Pop from the Arra Breeding program. As the family farm, De Vlei is a late farm, these early varieties can give us an earlier start in the Hex to spread out the peaks in our harvest season."
Verste Stuiwer (A0242), is the 'opening batsman', located close to the Vioolsdrift Border post.
As the South African table grape season is coming to an end, the Viljoens remember the rather unusual start. UK supermarkets were flying in grapes from South Africa, which was a boon for the start of the season. For the first time in many years the weather played along, there was almost no load shedding (power cuts) for most of the season, and The Cape Town Port is starting to fare a little bit better, despite the usual wind delays. With our exporter, Exsa, being strong in UK and European supermarket programs, we are excited to see how the season will play out," concludes the Viljoen brothers.
For more information:
Gabriël and Reynecke Viljoen
De Vlei Boerdery
Tel: +27 0 23 356 2052
gabriel@devlei.co.za / reynecke@devlei.co.za
www.devlei.co.za