Mooigezicht Estates in South Africa’s Hex River Valley is reaping the rewards of good table grape variety choices, says Mooigezicht MD Francois Rossouw. They are seeing a high demand for mig grape punnets while there is a strong demand for white seedless grapes.
Supplying the strong demand for white varieties
Their selection of premium white seedless varieties includes Sweet Globe, Autumn Crisp, Superior Seedless, Arra Sweeties and Timpson, which is making it possible for Mooigezicht to supply the strong global increase in demand for white seedless grapes. The optimal growth conditions during this harvest have delivered an excellent harvest for these premium white seedless varieties, with high packouts of XL and XXL berry sizing.
Meeting the high demand for mixed punnets from clients
The good volumes of white varieties are also assisting Mooigezicht to supply the high current demand for mixed (bicolour) punnets of grapes, both white and red grapes and white and black grapes. “Our wide range of white, red and black varieties through the early, mid and late season make it possible for us to supply various combinations in mixed punnets throughout our harvest,” says Rossouw. He added that the international demand for mixed punnets has grown steadily over time and is currently one of the most popular forms of pre-packs. Mooigezicht expects to pack more than 200 000 cartons of mixed punnets during this harvest.
Harvesting locally bred red varieties
In addition to the good supply of white seedless varieties from Mooigezicht, the company is also the only table grape producer currently harvesting three promising red seedless table grape varieties that have been bred in South Africa. These are Joybells and Queen Ruby, both bred by the South African Agricultural Research Council and marketed by Culdevco, and Carmine Crunch, bred and marketed by Lombardi Genetics and marketed exclusively by Core Fruit. These varieties are all relatively new and are attracting the interest of South African growers.
For more information:
Francois Rossouw
Mooigezicht Estates
Tel: +27 23 356 2110
Email: [email protected]
www.mooigezicht.co.za