“Many farmers are interested due to the significant shortage in apricots in the market, especially after Christmas and demand from everywhere in the world is amazing. South Africa is the only supplier of apricots to the main markets from January until March,” explains Michael Oosthuizen, International Plant Selection’s representative in South Africa.
Almost eighty hectares of the Carmingo™ and Robyngo™ apricot series have been planted. Oosthuizen reckons another 500 hectares are needed to supply demand for these apricots which has suddenly become massive.
At a recent field day in January in the Koo Valley, farmers from the Langkloof, Uniondale, Villiersdorp, Bonnievale, Robertson, Paarl and Ceres came to look at the last in the Carmingo portfolio, Farlis, which will take South African apricots past the end of February in the markets by next year.
Alex Darnaud of International Plant Selection with Peter Wolfaardt, Ceres stonefruit grower, and Pierre Rossouw of exporter Stems Fruit
This year’s Carmingo apricot crop has been flown and shipped to supermarkets in the United Kingdom, Singapore and Dubai.
“The best export prices returned to growers was about R55 [2.7 euro] per kilogram this past season. We are planting the full red Rubyngo™ apricots for the first time this coming winter in the Kammanassie, Uniondale as well as in the Villiersdorp and Robertson areas. We are also testing in Montagu and the largest plantings were done on Ceres farms the last few years.”
He adds that the past season’s highest tonnage was achieved in Ceres (42 tonnes per hectare). After culling some fruit in the orchard while picking, some orchards have had 98% packouts.
Arresting the drop in apricot exports
Apricots need the boost: South Africa is only exporting 550,000 cartons (4.75 kg), Oosthuizen remarks, and the figure is dipping. A few years ago this export number was above 1 million cartons and the season only lasted a few weeks.
“Cultivar series have always been the problem, which is why so little was planted over the past twenty years. It is the first time ever that a complete series for an entire apricot season is available, from the start of November to the end of March.”
The great appeal lies in the nice red blush colour of Carmingo apricots. Most of the current plantings consists of Red Blush (trademarked as Carmingo) and Full Red (under the Rubyngo trademark) will also be planted a lot as the demand is high for full red apricots. These full red apricots are also more adapted in different areas than the previous Carmingo range due to lower chilling requirement.
“It’s nice that South Africa is the only country in the Southern Hemisphere to have advanced this far on apricots, whereas Chile, for example, went with cherries.”
For more information:
Michael Oosthuizen
International Plant Selection
Tel: +27 83 228 9348
Email: [email protected]
https://www.ips-plant.com/en/