South African raisin production hit by drought

South Africa's 2005 raisin production is expected to decrease 23 percent from last year because of a drought and late rains which caused a decline in total production of grapes used for drying. Thompson seedless raisins and unbleached sultanas experienced significant decreases of about 29 percent and 65 percent respectively. As a result, imports of raisins to South Africa is expected to increase by about 4 percent to 900 tons. Also, many South Africa's grape producers are reported to be facing financial hardship and bankruptcy because of bad weather that damaged fresh production and reduced exports, resulting in increasing number of farms on sale.