South Africa expects lower pineapple crop in 2010

Summerpride Foods, South Africa's only pineapple processing plant and the country's largest commercial pineapple grower, expects production of the fruit to decline by around a fifth next year but rebound again in 2011 on increased planting.

 

Mark Harris, chairman of the firm, said 2010 will see one of South Africa's lowest pineapple crops in terms of volume - around 20% down on the current calendar year - but it will be up again in 2011.

 

"We had three or four years of low overseas selling prices coinciding with overproduction and a strong rand," Mr Harris told the Business Day newspaper. "Farmers reduced planting and focused on other projects." But managing director Pierre Tilney explained that higher prices have spurred an increase in production of the fruit. "There is a shortage of (pineapple juice) concentrate overseas and the price is climbing; it's 45% higher than last year," he said. "We expect to process about 93 000 tons of raw pineapple this year - this produces close to 13 000 tons of concentrate and equals 675 shipping containers," he continued, adding that he expects Summerpride to receive 77 000 tons of raw fruit next year.

 

Summerpride Foods previously produced canned pineapple chunks and rings but adjusted its business model to focus on pineapple juice concentrate in 2007 in order to reduce manufacturing costs and cut overheads in order to stay afloat.

 

South Africa's pineapple processing and farming business suffered a devastating blow in 2007 due to local farmers' use of a Chinese fertiliser that had a high level of cadmium.

A shipment of canned pineapples exported to Sweden was found to have more cadmium than EU limits allowed and as Europe was the biggest market for exports to the trading bloc were hit. Harris also attributed the cadmium crisis as a contributing factor behind the decline in South African pineapple output in the past few years.