Over December rain barely stopped falling over South Africa's central areas, leading to a shortage in the fresh produce market, starting with leafy greens like lettuce, spinach, and herbs but now not a single line is unaffected says André Dippenaar from DW Fresh at the Tshwane municipal market. The impact on vegetables of waterlogged fields and fungal disease is becoming clear on the markets.
An unusually empty Tshwane market after six weeks of rain
The expectation is of fewer tomatoes until April. Carrot processors usually with their own direct supply, have had to come buy on the market – but there's very little.
André Dippenaar doesn't ever remember carrot volumes being this low. "Normally we'd open with 80,000 units of carrots, 5kg or 1kg or so forth. Now we opened with 15,000 bags: that's really little." In Brits, he says, one of his carrot farmers had to plow in several hectares of the vegetable, rotting as soil temperatures climbed, cooking the carrots where they stand.
"This time of the year the floors are usually packed," he adds. Now he points to the open spaces: the market is unusually empty. "Normally by mid-January, we'd be having a space problem. At the moment volumes are radically low: guys just can't get into their fields."
Immature crops harvested by necessity
A sweet potato farmer who sends to DW Fresh was obliged to harvest the following month's crop early, hence small sizes on that, because those due now for harvest are flooded.
"Usually, among thirty pallets of sweet potatoes, you'd get four, maybe five pallets with sweet potatoes as small as this. Now twenty out of thirty pallets are this small because they're immature."
Lettuce keeps for a day, he says, where they expect a five or six-day shelf life. Almost everything Dippenaar points to on the floor was impacted by the weeks of rain. The rain washed off the pesticide and fertilizer sprays, everything necessary to reach high quality, necessitating respraying, which further pushes up costs.
"On butternut, we're sitting with huge quality issues because of the rain. These pumpkins are two or three days old and you can push a finger right into the flesh."
DW Fresh has taken many municipal responsibilities upon itself to ensure the cleanliness and occupational health and safety of its market floor space
Eating quality has also been affected, particularly that of beetroot. "With all the water, it leached out nutrients and sugars. Beetroot has a low brix at the moment.," he says. "They might keep for longer but it's not the best-tasting beetroot."
His assessment regarding the low sugar levels of beetroot after this rainy period holds true for the beetroot on sale at retailers as well.
Four weeks ago beetroot was very expensive, and much of that volume has not moved in shops, with the result that beetroot sales on the market are sluggish: the day started with 40,000 units and ended with 38,000 units.
Beetroot eating quality affected by low sugars after weeks of rain over December and JanuaryFor more information:
André Dippenaar
DW Fresh
Tel: +27 12 326 9226
http://dwfresh.co.za/