South Africa is rapidly establishing itself as the leading and preferred source of Pink Lady apples from the Southern Hemisphere.
According to Kantar data, Pink Lady sales in the United Kingdom (UK) have risen by 13% over the past year, making it the UK’s fastest-growing apple variety. Additionally, it ranks as the largest apple variety in the UK, second only to Royal Gala.
“South Africa is the largest producer of Pink Lady apples in the Southern Hemisphere, and, from a supply perspective, the country is becoming synonymous with Pink Lady. I am quite positive about the future of Pink Lady and believe the best is yet to come for South African Pink Lady apples,” says Calla du Toit, procurement manager at Tru-Cape Fruit Marketing and chairman of Pink Lady SA.
South Africa currently produces about 5 million cartons of Pink Lady apples, with Tru-Cape handling about 20% of the market for these apples. The UK receives the majority (approximately 2,1 million cartons), followed by Europe and Africa (1 million cartons each). Other markets where South African Pink Lady apples are doing well include Europe, India and Vietnam.
“We made good progress in developing new markets over the past five years,” says Du Toit, who commented on the unbelievable year-round promotional activity for Pink Lady in core markets. “We are also optimistic that market access to Thailand, where our competitors sell high volumes of Pink Lady, is imminent.”
Conrad Fick, marketing director at Tru-Cape Fruit Marketing, still remembers when Pink Lady apples appeared on the scene in South Africa at the turn of the century.
“It was a drastic move away from the ordinary red, green, and yellow varieties. One of the reasons for the success of Pink Lady is the effort and money that went into building the brand, which helps drive customers to retail outlets.
“These days, the brand is well positioned as a key retail variety, and Pink Lady is certainly claiming more shelf space and pushing out varieties like Braeburn and Golden Delicious in England, among other places.”
The exceptional quality of Southern Hemisphere Pink Lady apples is particularly sought after, and South Africa is in a great position to take advantage of market opportunities.
South African Pink Lady apples are renowned for their soft rosy colour and greenish undertones.
“It performs particularly well in areas where colour development is not a problem, and over the years, we could figure out where the best sites are to farm with Pink Lady varieties,” said Calla.
Most of the local Pink Lady production takes place in cooler areas, such as Bo-Swaarmoed, Witzenberg, the Langkloof and certain areas of the EGVV area (Elgin, Grabouw, Villiersdorp, and Vyeboom). The Free State typically marks the beginning of the South African Pink Lady season.
“Understanding your farm and production areas is crucial for planting in locations that experience favourable temperature changes between day and night as autumn begins. Additionally, it’s essential to ensure a reliable water supply, especially since we cultivate late-season varieties that require extended irrigation.”
