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Another red seedless grape makes its debut

20 February 2012

A new red seedless table grape variety, Sweet Celebration, has been harvested and packed for the first in South Africa. The first grapes will be on the shelves of JS Sainsbury in the UK during the second week of March.

It is anticipated that as much as 2,5 million cartons of the variety could be produced in South Africa in a few years time.

Four companies have been licensed to export Sweet Celebration from South Africa in what is the launching of yet another table grape cultivar for which the production and marketing rights are restricted.
 

The variety was developed by American breeder David Cain and will be marketed under the umbrella of his company, International Fruit Genetics (IFG). This means that the marketing will be restricted to certain exporters and that the hectares to be planted will also be restricted. This will not please all South African growers who believe that it is wrong to restrict the marketing of these varieties.
 

The UK based Fresh Produce Journal reported last year that the controversy over marketing rights of new varieties has been growing steadily in recent years. Over the past decade there has been a clamour by every one from plant breeders to exporters to get their hands on the exclusive marketing rights of new varieties. This is increasingly seen as offering a strategic competitive advantage to those who control not only the plant breeders’ rights, but also the marketing of the varieties.

Growers are getting hot under the collar about those who control the marketing of these varieties and who therefore force growers who plant them to market them through certain designated channels. “These feeling are now increasingly boiling over,” reported the FPJ.

“We are happy for plant breeders to sell and cover their cost via the sales of the plant material and to collect royalties on every carton we export,” says one large grower. “Unless they market the varieties themselves, we do not see how they add any value to the product. Even if they do market the varieties directly, we do not want to be told how, where and when the varieties we grow should be marketed.”

Growers point out that most new grape varieties are not sold under their particular name, but simply as part of the white, red or black seedless category. 

This strong stance by growers is not restricted to the table grape sector. It has been a long and hard struggle for South African growers from the days of a regulated industry, through the period where they saw themselves at the mercy of exporters, to where they are increasingly marketing their own fruit directly to their customers.

While the debate about this issue will continue for some time, the fact of the matter is that the fresh produce business has become very competitive, with access to unique and winning varieties being seen as providing competitive edge.
 

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