By Jacques du Preez During the past season, logistics, and in particular the functioning of the main ports from where we ship our fruit, have been a huge headache during the initial and further lockdown levels in South Africa and…
Currently, the industry is in a very precarious position with the current operational status of the Cape Town (CT) port. The industry, and country, is losing millions of Rands on a daily basis due to inefficiencies resulting in berthing delays…
Last season, Agbiz ran a pilot project (Genset project) with Transnet to create additional temporary plug-point capacity at the Port of Cape Town. The project was funded via donations from FPEF, SATI, Hortgro, the KAL Group and the Western Cape…
New management, more transparency, better cooperation, and ongoing improvements have helped to turn around the backlog at the Cape Town port (CTP) for fruit exports. It is, however, still a long road ahead to get port productivity on par with the…
View a graphic representation of the pome and stone fruit carbon footprint. What are the trends and hotspots and how does your crop compare to other fruit types? Stone fruit benchmark report:benchmark-report-stonefruit Pome fruit benchmark report:benchmark-report-pome-fruit
Text: Carmé Naudé The FWDT (Fruit Workers’ Development Trust) aims at improving the quality of the lives of the workers on fruit farms. Vredelust Farm, one of the Trust’s beneficiaries is situated in Villiersdorp and was purchased in 2013. With…
By Jacques du Preez After an unexpected, but welcome, increase in stone fruit production during the previous season, especially the plum industry is anticipating export volumes that are in line with the 2021/22 season. Normality has returned after the drought…
Text: Lucille Botha Amoré Viljoen (34) is a trailblazing female producer managing Lakeview Farm – a 100% black-owned apple and pear farm – with vision, grit, and a deep love for the land. Nestled just outside Villiersdorp in the EGVV…
IMMEDIATE RELEASE [Stellenbosch] – February 21, 2025 – The fight against invasive pests has just intensified with the launch of the groundbreaking Centre of Excellence for Pest Monitoring. This initiative by the South African deciduous fruit industry organisation, Hortgro, aims…
By Elise-Marie Steenkamp The Cape honeybee might have global celebrity status in the insect world, but there are many challenges to secure the future of this “famous bee variety” and sustain its contribution as an apex pollinator in the Western…
Charl Herbst is die nuwe voorsitter van Hortgro Stone nadat André Smit ag jaar die rol beklee het. Elise-Marie Steenkamp het gaan uitvind wie die man in die steenvrug warmstoel is. Charl is gebore op Ceres en het grootgeword in…
By Carmé Naudé and Dr. Leon von Mollendorff In the 1990’s the first blushed pear varieties were bred and grown in South Africa and have been the market leader for blushed pears ever since. Of these, Cheeky® only made its…