"Last year wasn't a bad year at all: the yield was good, and prices too," says Josua van Straaten, pineapple farmer in Hluhluwe, northern KwaZulu-Natal. The only thing hampering now is the rainfall for January and February, far above the monthly averages, and tractors getting stuck in waterlogged fields.
The emergence of fungal disease such a black spot three months' hence is possible as a result of recent continuous rain. "We're holding our breath a bit, to see what the effect will be but we're not ungrateful," he hastens to add. "It's still far better than having a drought. Our production is completely open land, with no irrigation."
© Ezulwini Pines
Cold winter leads to large spontaneous crop set
The peak crop of October to December – pineapples benefit from a summer holiday atmosphere – is carefully timed through Ethaphon applications. At the moment, what Van Straaten calls a "natural crop situation" reigns: a very large natural crop resulted from the previous cold winter on pineapple farms across the Hluhluwe area. Under spontaneous fruit set, ripening is irregular and harvesting is cumbersome, and therefore there has been a shortage of pineapples during February and March.
"Within the next four weeks we'll have worked through the natural crop," he says.
The domestic pineapple market provides a better return than exports, which they will only do sporadically, he says. A few pineapple farmers export small fruit for which there's no local market to the Middle East and Europe, but airfreight being so expensive (and sea freight so lengthy), pineapple exports aren't a focus at the moment.
During winter pineapple demand is quiet, and growers send little to the markets. "What people don't perhaps realize is that even in winter a significant amount of dew and moisture condenses on the plant, runs into the stem and into the soil, and that's what pulls us through the winter. Pineapples enjoy that kind of tropical weather with a high level of dew precipitation."
Pineapples are harvested throughout the year, with a peak from October to December (Copyright: Ezulwini Pines)
For more information:
Josua van Straaten
Ezulwini Pines
Tel: +27 83 635 0858
Email: josua@ezulwini.co.za
Josua van Straaten – Ezulwini Pines