The International Prune Association (IPA) recently planted a young prune tree on the grounds of a farm school, Botha’s Halte Primary School, in the Breede River Valley, a couple of kilometres from where the most successful South African prune variety was first discovered in the 1960s.

The tree, a Van der Merwe prune variety, is considered to be one of the best prune varieties in the world. The IPA recently visited the region and was so impressed with the state-of-the-art farm school on Bosjes Farm that they decided to donate a tree to the school. The prune variety was discovered on a neighbouring farm that belonged to Koos van der Merwe.

Grower prices for dried plums are on the upswing following a steady decline in statewide acreage, noted industry officials at the South Sacramento Valley prune grower meeting held in Yuba City, Calif. this spring. The plum acreage has decreased as growers increased acreage planted to more-profitable crops including almonds and walnuts, according to industry sources. The average grower price for the 2014 crop was “a significant spike over previous years,” said Donn Zea, executive director of the California Dried Plums Board (CDPB) based in Sacramento. According to the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), the preliminary price for the 2014 crop is $2,200 per ton. NASS’ final price will be released in October.

Following a season without any major weather constraints, estimates are showing that the volume of fruit is adding up to 76,945 tons according to Chile Prunes’ production analysis. It is important to note that harvest estimates for last season (2014) were 65,899 tons. Along with the favorable weather conditions, requirements were met in terms of cold hours, flowering and development. There were no major frosts and the seasons took place in an adequate timeframe. The only climate-related incident that affected production in a few areas was a 22 millimeter rainfall in late December, which caused splitting in some fruit. On the other hand, high temperatures over the past few months, which have sped-up the fruit’s ripening process, moved-up harvesting dates between 5 to 10 days.