© SonliaThe Western Cape's pomegranate harvest has commenced, and early indications promise good volumes and high quality.
"The first of the early varieties will arrive at their final destinations soon, and fruit to the Middle East will still be on time to catch the last bit of Ramadan. We are hopeful that quality issues will not be an issue this season, despite continued delays in the harbour," says Marita Rossouw from Sonlia Marketing.
This time of the year, it is pretty much only South Africa and Peru putting pomegranates out there, and the expectation is of less of the Peruvian fruit available as heavy rains in the Ica Valley have had a negative impact on Peru's pomegranate production.
"South African growers are also doing a great job in producing top quality pomegranates which are making our job as marketers a lot easier. The demand for South African pomegranates, worldwide, is on the increase," she says.
Growing demand from many quarters
Fifty percent of Sonlia Marketing's volumes go to the Middle East, with the other fifty percent going to the UK, Europe, Eastern Europe, Africa, and the Far East. Rossouw remarks that the demand for processing pomegranates from countries like Iraq and Saudi Arabia is very high at this stage, with Dubai's demand for class 1 fruit also nicely increasing.
"We are also supplying the wholesale markets in Kenia, Uganda, Angola and Nigeria with good quality class 1 fruit, and there the demand is also growing. Customers in these areas are more than willing to pay a premium to fly in pomegranates from South Africa."
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Colors brand still remembered
She notes that all of their export fruit is packed in the Colors brand with a great success rate as it stands.
"I had the privilege to attend the Fruit Attraction Show in Madrid in October last year and I experienced that the Colors brand is still as well-known and I'd even say loved as before."
Sonlia will pack pomegranates until, approximately, the end of April, and will continue loading out until the end of June.
For more information:
Marita Rossouw
Sonlia Marketing
Tel: +27 21 873 0449
Email: marketing@sonlia.co.za