Grower association is creating opportunities

The South African Table Grape Industry (SATI) represents growers on key government and industry initiatives aimed at creating more opportunities in the sector, from ownership to accessing new markets in a sustainable way.

SATI assists growers with crucial industry information, transformation, statistics, research, technology and technical transfer as well as training and education with the aim of establishing South Africa as the Preferred Country of Origin for the world’s best-tasting grapes.

South Africa boasts five major table grapegrowing regions in South Africa. Their differences in soil and climate enable growers to supply the markets from November to May. The early season is dominated by varieties from the Northern Provinces and the valleys of the Orange and Olifants rivers.

This is followed by later-season varieties grown in the Berg River and Hex River Regions. Both of these regions are situated in the Western Cape, positioning the province as a large contributor to South Africa’s table grape industry.

The Berg River Region comprises 4 674 hectares of vines planted and is well-known for red seedless varieties. The region contributes to direct employment by supporting approximately 3 772 permanent and 19 521 seasonal jobs.

The Hex River Region, also well-known for red seedless varieties, comprises 6 394 hectares of vines planted. The region contributes to direct employment by supporting approximately 4 791 permanent and 13 885 seasonal jobs.

Collectively, the two regions exported a total of 44 409 320 4.5kg equivalent cartons of table grapes in the 2021/22 season.