The South African Deciduous Fruit Industry

The first deciduous fruit trees were planted in South Africa when Jan van Riebeeck established a garden in 1652, soon after his arrival in Table Bay. However, the deciduous fruit industry only really started towards the end of the 19th century, when markets for fresh fruit expanded and the industry was no longer limited to supplying passing ships and local consumers. From those humble beginnings the industry has grown to the extent that South Africa now produces deciduous fruit on approximately 75,000 ha. This is made up of approximately 31% dry and table grapes, 28% apples, 15% pears, 11% peaches, 6% Japanese plums, 5% apricots, 3% nectarines and 1% European plums. Most orchards and vineyards are concentrated in the Western Cape Province, but table grape and stone fruit orchards especially are also found in the rest of the country. Large differences are found between deciduous fruit types in how they are utilised, i.e., to what extent they are exported, consumed locally or used for processing. Changes are also occurring in the export destinations of the different fruit types, with apples being marketed increasingly in Africa and traditional United Kingdom and Western European markets becoming less important.