With the early South African stonefruit crop now done, clear patters are developing. Shipments of nectarines, for example, are running ahead of expectations, but the early plum crop, where most investment has taken place in recent years, is down. read more

The South African Table Grape Industry (Sati) has said that harvesting and packing is running slightly ahead of predictions, but shipments lag far below the levels of the same time last year. read more

Tensions in the Red Sea continue. After several attacks on container ships, some carriers have decided not to use the Suez Canal, diverting their vessels via South Africa and the Cape of Good Hope instead, thereby extending the transit time by two weeks. Consequences: rising prices and
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The onion market is calm at present. "Most packers are fairly quiet, and demand is dwindling. Only one ship, at most, will still leave for Senegal, and it's a big question of who's going to take over next," says Rinus Wisse of the Dutch company Wiscomex. read more

The South African Table Grape Industry association (SATGI) reported for the 2023/24 season a total of 20.92 million cartons (4,5 kg equivalent) that were inspected for export up until week 52, which is 6% more than the same time last year. A total of 9.87 million cartons (4.5 kg equivalent) were
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Despite a 14% increase in production over last year, the success of Tunisia's Deglet Nour date export campaign remains to be seen. Several exporters told FreshPlaza that orders had been slow this year and that they were hoping for a more dynamic market in the run-up to Ramadan. read more

Egyptian growers have just completed the first half of the strawberry season. The remainder of the fresh strawberry season runs until February when frozen strawberry exports begin. According to Amr Kadah, Export Manager at Fruit.Farm: "Egypt is set to export more strawberries than last season." read more

Demand for Moroccan strawberries improved at the end of the year both on the local market and for export. Larache-based strawberry grower Oussama Baioua reports on the progress of the campaign. read more

South Africa’s Stargrow Fruit Marketing is anticipating a strong market ahead of the arrival of the first new-season volumes of Celina blush pears. read more

Danish shipping giant Maersk warned customers on Friday to prepare for significant disruption after announcing it will divert all vessels from Red Sea routes around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope for the foreseeable future. read more

In October 2023, South Africa signed a protocol for deliveries to China, and good progress has also been made in gaining access to India. Together, these markets will add to South Africa's avocado export programme, which in the past focused mainly on the United Kingdom.
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South African access to the avocado consumer markets of the Far East has been boosted by the finalisation of a protocol for shipments to Japan. read more

A new report from the USDA has forecast world apple production will increase slightly in 2023/24, rising 175,000 tonnes to 83.1m tonnes.  read more

A new report from the USDA has forecast world apple production will increase slightly in 2023/24, rising 175,000 tonnes to 83.1m tonnes.  read more

A new report from the USDA has forecast world apple production will increase slightly in 2023/24, rising 175,000 tonnes to 83.1m tonnes.  read more

"A true divide has developed between large and small avocados. Everyone wants big sizes and try to buy as few small ones as possible," says Mehdi Haddadi of Med Fruit Europe, a Dutch company whose focus includes Moroccan avocados. In mid-November, he saw that Morocco’s extreme weather
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Kenyans have been assured that there is no ban on exporting avocados to the international market. According to Horticulture Crops Directorate acting director, Christine Chesaro, the Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) has not banned the export of Kenya avocados, as was reported in the media
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The Seasonal Agricultural Survey 2023 annual report by the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR) highlighted the performance of major crops that Rwanda prioritises under the Crop Intensification Programme (CIP). The crops play a major role in Rwandans’ nutrition. read more

Vessels that are avoiding the dangers of the Red Sea by rerouting around the Cape of Good Hope (a voyage 5,000km longer) should pack extra fuel, because they won’t be refueling at Algoa Bay, seaward from Port Elizabeth and Ngqura, as they’ve been used to doing. read more

The South African stone fruit industry is launching a new UK campaign in January aimed at both increasing visibility of its products to consumers and restoring trade confidence in the country as a primary Southern hemisphere source. read more