ICYMI: Legendary table grape grower passes away

South Africa’s table grape industry is mourning the loss of iconic table grape grower Aat Hoekstra who passed away in his sleep on Sunday evening 23 January 2022.

Hoekstra died at the age of 91. The pioneering grape farmer was the founder and owner of the Hoekstra Fruit Farms group in Paarl, Western Cape. It is not clear what led to his passing.

The South African Table Grape Industry (SATI) recognised Hoekstra, or Oom Aat as he was affectionately known, as one of eight pioneers who made a huge impact on the industry in its over 125-year history.

According to Willem Bestbier, retired SATI chief executive, Hoekstra was a “true industry pioneer” who not only focused on building a successful business, but actively supported industry initiatives.

“We salute him for the great impact he made in improving the SA table grape industry,” Bestbier said.

Hoekstra’s legacy as a person and his contribution to the South African table grape industry has been monumental and has been recognized by organised agriculture and other industry bodies through the bestowment of various industry awards and tokens of recognition.

He arrived in South Africa from the Netherlands with ten pounds in his pocket decades ago and learned the finer skills of the table grape business from another legendary Paarl grower, the late Jan Kirsten.

Hoekstra’s gradual building of his business in the Paarl region, later incorporating not only the best practices in table grape growing, but also extending to cold storage operations and international marketing, were visionary.
 
The orange, blue and white colours of the Hoekstra fruit branded boxes are known the world over. He also founded a table grape breeding initiative which included bringing some of the best new international varieties to the country.

Prime Seedless and Starlight are the most well know cultivars that have been commercialised by Hoekstra in South Africa. This quest is continuing today with more than 100 new cultivars from the Volcani Research Organisation in Israel being tested and evaluated on Hoekstra’s farms through his involvement in the company Plant Genetics of which he is a shareholder.

Hoekstra was still very active in the business. His wish for the Hoekstra businesses was to continue with the work that has been his passion for so many years and to continue his legacy of producing some of the best quality table grapes.

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