Kouga Berries, the only blueberry growers in the Gamtoos Valley, is 90% harvested through a strong harvest.

In some of the older blocks, more than 30 tons of berries were harvested per hectare and their total volumes have doubled since last year, as they had the previous year.

It has been their third blueberry harvest season, with plantations now covering 24 hectares (half under nets, half in tunnels) in the Patensie area, very close to the Kouga Dam in the Eastern Cape.

Blueberries that begin to ripen slowly from the end of July, peak in the first week of October, all of which are exported by Haygrove South Africa to Driscoll's programs in the EU, UK, Middle East and a bit in the Far East, already packed.

“Haygrove is proud to work together with Kouga Berries,” says Sean Tager, managing director of Haygrove Africa. “They are excellent farmers who have not only achieved incredible yields, but have also achieved amazing quality results.”

“As we consider the future impact of the Peruvian expansion on our supply window, there is an increasing need for South African producers to focus on these two key elements to ensure their own competitiveness and sustainability,” continues Sean. 

Despite initial concerns, the season went well

Most of the crop was exported as described above, but Kouga Berries also supplied 15% of its crop to local retailer Woolworths, in both the Mixed Berries lines (along with George's Haygrove raspberries) and the Flavor Burst lines. . Less than 5% of the total harvest ends up in the domestic market, in traditional markets or in local sale to the public.

Early in the season some fruit was trucked to Johannesburg to be airlifted, around 20% of the harvest, but generally most berries will be shipped or flown from Cape Town depending on market conditions and destinations.

“Because our volumes were double what we had last year, at the beginning, at the beginning of the harvest, we were concerned about whether we could get all the labor needed to start the harvest, but in general, everything has been went very well. It's been a really good season with few hiccups along the way, ”says Frikkie du Preez, director and spokesperson for Kouga Berries.

Gamtoos Valley has been shown to be optimal for blueberries

Patensie is well known for its mild citrus and vegetable production, but has also been subject to droughts and severe water restrictions in recent years.

Blueberries use less water than citrus fruits (and about three-quarters of the tobacco that used to be grown on this land).

Frikkie notes that colder nights coupled with warm days in Gamtoos provide optimal conditions for growing and ripening very tasty berries with a good shelf life.

“At Kouga Berries we pride ourselves on growing some of the best tasting blueberries in South Africa. The very successful Costa and Driscoll varieties, along with our ideal climate, help Kouga Berries achieve this goal.”

Kouga Berries partners were impressed with the Driscoll and Costa blueberry varieties they had seen at trade shows, and Haygrove's technical expertise has made it much easier to embark on blueberry production, he says.