Plums value chain

Producers source budded plum trees on Marianna or peach seedling rootstock selected for fruit colour, eating quality and sequential harvest timing. South Africa grows both Japanese and European plum types with Japanese varieties dominating fresh export and European varieties used for prune production.

Plum orchards require precise fruit thinning for size optimisation, brown rot spray programmes and sunburn prevention through netting or kaolin application. Cultivar portfolios are planned for sequential harvest across early, mid and late season to extend the export campaign and packhouse utilisation.

Plums are picked at the correct firmness and colour stage with careful handling to prevent bruise damage. Multiple harvest passes are required as plums within a single tree ripen unevenly over a ten to fourteen day window.

Fruit is graded by colour, size and external quality, rapidly cooled and packed into lined cartons with partition cells to prevent in transit bruising. Dual temperature forced air cooling achieves the minus half degree celsius target within eight hours of harvest for export quality maintenance.

European plum varieties are halved and dried into prunes using tunnel dehydrators. South African prunes compete in global markets and dried plum products serve health conscious consumers seeking natural sources of fibre and antioxidants.

Fresh plums are shipped under controlled atmosphere to European, UK and Middle Eastern markets. South Africa is one of the top three global plum exporters and market access depends on phytosanitary compliance and meeting retailer shelf life requirements.