opportunity for the marketing of South African fresh deciduous fruits in Europe at attractive prices but is of no 

 advantage in the canned sector. 



The climatic conditions in the Western Cape are characterized by temperate winters, dry warm summers, 

 and winter rainfall. Temperatures in the winter months of June and July average between 45° and 55°F, resulting in 

 fewer hours of winter chilling of deciduous fruits than in California's commercial orchards and, for some deciduous 

 varieties, problems with delayed foliation. Frosts are not much of a hazard to fruit production except in scattered 

 low-lying or marginal areas. Rainfall, which is concentrated in the period April - October, averages 25-35 inches 

 annually in most districts. 



Irrigation is essential for economic production, but the scarcity of water limits supplies available to farmers. 

 Farmers obtain irrigation water from their own reservoirs, mountain catchments, or wells or ally themselves in 

 irrigation projects financed partially by the government, where water is allocated through irrigation boards. The 

 provision for water is a key factor in the price of land in South Africa. Irrigated orchard land is high-priced, 

 reportedly averaging between $1 ,500 and $2,000 per acre in 1969. 



The government is currently in the process of building the Orange River Development Project, one of the 

 largest water-conservation projects of modern times. The planned dams along the Orange River, which flows through 

 a semiarid region stretching over one-third of South Africa, will create vast storage lakes that will eventually provide 

 water for the irrigation of over 860,000 acres extending from Port Elizabeth on the Indian Ocean to Port Nolloth on 

 the Atlantic side. This is expected to open up new land for fruit production. Weather conditions, however, are not as 

 favorable to deciduous fruit production as in the Western Cape and the Langkloof. For the short term, at least, the 

 potential for expanded acreage of fruits for canning is limited to the latter two regions. 



Structure 



Some form of mixed farming is the norm in the producing areas. In addition to a variety of deciduous 

 fruits, crops such as potatoes, wheat, and Turkish tobacco are grown; livestock also is raised. The area devoted to 

 fruit production on farms ranges from a few acres to thousands of acres. Most of the farms are privately owned and 

 operated. Leasing of land is not a common practice. 



A striking feature of the structural makeup of the South African industry are control boards established 

 through enabling legislation to promote economic stability and improve the economic position of growers. Two such 

 boards, the Deciduous Fruit Board (DFB) and the Canning Apricot-Peach Board (CAPB) are currently active in the 

 regulation of fresh fruits for canning. 



The Deciduous Fruit Board is the sole exporter of all fresh apricots, peaches, nectarines, plums, prunes, 

 pears, grapes, and apples produced in the Republic. The Board also controls the allocation of pears for processing 

 although there is some sentiment in the industry for transferring the control of canning pears to the Canning 

 Apricot-Peach Board. The Deciduous Fruit Board requires canners to purchase pears only through the DFB or its 

 authorized agents, at prices negotiated by the canners and the Board. 



The Canning Apricot-Peach Board, established in 1966, is a supervisory body that does not exert any 

 physical control over the fruit. Under the terms of its regulations, no producer of apricots or peaches for canning in 

 specified controlled districts in the Cape Province, which includes virtually all the producing area, may sell those 

 fruits to canners unless registered with the Board, and no person may can such fruit unless he is also registered. The 

 Board's functions include fixing minimum grower prices and operating a cannery-diversion program patterned 

 closely after the one used in California. The Board also is currently conducting a local advertising campaign for 

 canned peaches. In 1968-69 it allocated $14,000 for that promotion project. 



The CAPB obtains its finances from a levy on the volume of apricots and peaches delivered to canners. In 

 1969 this levy totaled $1.40 per ton. It was used for administrative expenses, local promotion, and special projects 

 such as the financing of the establishment of a Board-operated nursery, still in the planning stage, to produce 

 improved basic plant material on virus-free soils and sell it to approved nurseries. The lack of adequate rootstock 

 selection by nurseries and the distribution of diseased stock and trees that do not bear true-to-type has been one 

 factor adversely affecting yields in South Africa. 



Almost all apricot and peach growers also are organized into the Apricot-Peach Growers Association. This is 

 a service organization which, among other functions, handles the nomination of growers to the CAPB. 



