Articles
The ‘Forelle’ Early Market Access (FEMA) programme: South Africa’s solution to astringency and mealiness in ‘Forelle’ pears
Article number
1403_3
Pages
29 – 36
Language
English
Abstract
Historically, South Africa struggled to maintain a bicolor pear supply in the EU market from February to June.
The main reason for this was that ‘Forelle’ pears were exposed to a mandatory 12- week cold storage period as a preventative measure to reduce the risk of mealiness development.
The South African bicolor pear market is established with sales of ‘Flamingo’ and ‘Rosmarie’ and then extended by the sale of ‘Forelle’. The 12-week cold storage requirement of ‘Forelle’ resulted in a gap between the last ‘Rosmarie’ sales and the start of ‘Forelle’ sales.
This led to pressure on producers to harvest as early as possible so that their fruit could be marketed soonest.
The early harvests exacerbated quality issues as often expressed by high levels of astringency.
The ‘Forelle’ Early Market Access (FEMA) programme was developed in response to these challenges and resulted in a novel solution that managed the risk of mealiness and astringency, and changed the way ‘Forelle’ pears were marketed and eaten.
This paper outlines the challenges that were overcome to make this initiative a success, and reports back on the economic benefit of the programme to South African farmers.
The main reason for this was that ‘Forelle’ pears were exposed to a mandatory 12- week cold storage period as a preventative measure to reduce the risk of mealiness development.
The South African bicolor pear market is established with sales of ‘Flamingo’ and ‘Rosmarie’ and then extended by the sale of ‘Forelle’. The 12-week cold storage requirement of ‘Forelle’ resulted in a gap between the last ‘Rosmarie’ sales and the start of ‘Forelle’ sales.
This led to pressure on producers to harvest as early as possible so that their fruit could be marketed soonest.
The early harvests exacerbated quality issues as often expressed by high levels of astringency.
The ‘Forelle’ Early Market Access (FEMA) programme was developed in response to these challenges and resulted in a novel solution that managed the risk of mealiness and astringency, and changed the way ‘Forelle’ pears were marketed and eaten.
This paper outlines the challenges that were overcome to make this initiative a success, and reports back on the economic benefit of the programme to South African farmers.
Publication
Authors
I.J. Crouch, D.W. Viljoen, H. Tayler
Keywords
marketing challenges, consumer acceptance, benefits
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