EXOTIC FRUITS PRODUCTION | SOUTH AFRICA.

Klein Pella in Nortern Cape Province

is South Africa's city of dates, and is located in the Northern Cape.Klein Pella is the largest producer of dates in the Southern Hemisphere.Dates require plenty of water and heat to grow wellIn summer dates palms can soak up to 1 200 litres of water per dayDuring Ramadan, Muslims consume an average of 10 kilograms of dates per personDate palms grow at the extremely rapid rate of almost a metre a year, Choose dates with a light brown colour and fleshy texture, Medjool dates, which are the ones largely grown in South Africa,  weigh an average of 24g, You can eat the fruit of the date palm, the date palm leaves as well as their flowers.Fresh dates are a great source of vitamin C,Pomegranate growing is a new crop on South African fruit farms. International trends show increasing demand for pomegranate juice, where pomegranate cultivation is found in dry areas of North Figs in South Africa, As with many fruits from Africa, figs are an exotic speciality fruit grown. Figs from South Africa are grown on fruit farms of the Western Cape.

The fig producing industry is relatively small, however it shows a great deal of growing potential.Figs are a smooth skinned pear-shaped fruit which becomes fleshy and extremely tasty when mature.Fine wines have been produced in South Africa's Western Cape province for centuries, but few know that the region is slowly making inroads into the global market for another exclusive liquid - olive oil. The Cape winelands are home to a growing number of boutique oil-makers, who say their product can compare with the best oils that Spain, Italy and Greece can offer - and they have the awards to prove it. Morgenster olive oil, produced by Morgenster Estate in Somerset West, was named the Southern Hemisphere New Season Extra Virgin Olive Oil of 2004 in a competition between oils from South Africa, New Zealand and Australia.

It was also - some years back - the first South African olive oil to receive the prestigious Orciolo d'Oro award. Willow Creek in the Nuy Valley won a coveted Grand Mention Diploma at the Leone d'Oro dei Mastri Oleari olive oil awards in Perugia, Italy in 2005, putting the oil on a par with the best in the world.
"South African producers are going really big - it's going to be an exciting industry in a couple of years," Paul Robinson, marketing and sales director for Willow Creek, told the Washington Post in an article published in July.The Willow Creek Estate is home to the Rabie family, who have been farming there since 1793. Traditionally a wine farm, the estate began producing olives in 1999. Willow Creek's production is still small relative to European standards, according to the Washington Post. It exported about 4 000 litres last year, mainly to Britain, Finland and Germany.

Now grown in South Africa the Kiwi fruit has a light brown, hairy exterior over a bright green, interior with a central circle of edible black seeds. Since it has ten times the vitamin C content of an orange, products are being developed to further exploit its health potential. Kiwi fruit is grown on fruit farms in KwaZulu Natal and fruit farms in Mpumalanga.Persimmon is known in the Far East as the Chinese apple. Its scientific name, Diospyros, means "food of the Gods". The original fruit is native to China and it was introduced to Japan 1300 years ago, to Europe in 1600 and to the USA in 1800.The persimmon is commercially grown in China, Japan, Brazil, Korea, Italy, Spain, USA, New Zealand, Australia, Chili, Georgia, Iran and Israel. Total crop produced all over he world is around 2.2 M tons.The Sharon Fruit is only grown in Israel (30,000 tons), Spain (3,000 tons), and now, in South Africa.

By the year 2010, South Africa will produce 30,000 tons.Groups of growers have been formed to produce persimmons from a controlled number of hectares, ensuring high quality fruit in limited quantity.The South African production of strawberries is about 350 hectares, most of  which are local cultivars. The majority of strawberries are grown in the North West,Gauteng and the Western  Cape. Some of the bigger growers include Mooiberge(Zetler) in Stellenbosch and  Tangaroa in Skeerpoort in the North West. Strawberries are grown as an annual  crop on raised beds covered with black plastic mulch. The average yeild per  hectare is 30 tons. Those farmers in Gauteng and North west  that grow strawberries in tunnels have  fruit available from late May until mid-December. In the western Cape the season  is late October to December.

Cherries are grown in the Eastern Free State towns of Clocolan Ficksburg and Fouriesburg. Here the excellent soil conditions, coupled with the hilly terrain and the cold winters have made the area world famous for their cherries.Every year in October the Ficksburg Cherry festival is held, and 2008 has the prospects of a bash of note: The cherry festival celebrates its 40th year.Cherries were first planted in 1905 in Clocolan. Although now concentrated in Ficksburg, cherry growing has been succussful over the years