Development: SA fruit varieties under test

Sun World International, the US based fruit breeding and research organisation, is testing more than 40 new varieties of grape, peach, plum, nectarine and apricot with South African growers. This month it opened an office in Paarl, one of the centres of deciduous fruit production, to manage its interests. This will also include monitoring production and exports of the Sugarone grape variety ­ registered as Superior Seedless. Two years ago it reached a settlement with several hundred members of the South African fruit industry, granting long-term licensing agreements. Today more than 200 of its producers account for 13.5 million kg, making Sugarone one of the industry's top sellers. {{M/E FRESH PRODUCE }}