Tru-Cape recorded a major decrease in cherry production in its first harvest season, but achieved the best fruit quality. With the harvest coming earlier than in previous years, cherry production is expected to fall by around 50% compared to last year.
Calla du Toit, procurement director at Tru-Cape Fruit, said this year’s season was challenging for cherry volumes due to early flowering, weather conditions, and a short pollination period.
“Many of the early cherries flowered during an exceptionally hot week at the end of August. We believe the heat shortened the effective pollination window, resulting in poor fruit set. The hot conditions were followed by cold weather, which may also have contributed to some cold damage,” he said.
Du Toit explained how the fruit sizes they produced are setting them back, the fruit quality they expected, and what fruit size they prefer in their enterprise.
“The cherries are looking beautiful, and we are seeing sizes of up to 30 mm for the first time,” Du Toit added.
Quality fruit ready for the festive season
“The sugar levels are also very high, so we expect the eating quality to be excellent. Although we would naturally prefer a bigger crop, the smaller harvest means we can pay closer attention to picking each cherry at its optimal maturity, with sufficient labour available to do so.”
One of Tru-Cape’s biggest packing facilities in Witzenberg Properties is helping improve fruit quality and deliver good-quality cherries to consumers.
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Tru-Cape’s goal is to supply cherry products to the biggest retail stores where the demand for cherry products is high, including Food Lover’s Market, Freshmark, and Pick n Pay.
Johan Brink, Tru-Cape’s sales director, said the company is rapidly expanding in terms of exports.
“Last year, we exported about 15% of our cherry crop. This season, we hope to increase that to 20%; however, due to the smaller crop and strong local prices, export decisions will need to be carefully weighed against the risks and costs involved,” he said.
However, despite the drop in cherry production volumes, the company expects the products to be available in stores during the festive season.
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