Carmingo apricots breathe new life into Koo Valley

The arrival of Carmingo apricot varieties enables producers to generate up to three times more income per season than with traditional varieties. Glenneis Kriel spoke to Pierre Burger and Sam Sieberhagen, two successful farmers in the Western Cape.

- Glenneis Kriel

FAST FACTS

The Carmingo cultivars extend the apricot picking season from December to mid-March.

The cultivars are ideally suited to the low temperatures of the Koo Valley, as they require a high number of chill units.

The fruit has an attractive red blush and excellent eating quality, rendering them in high demand.

With their relatively small farms, fruit producers Pierre Burger and Sam Sieberhagen realised there was only one way to compete with larger producers: find a niche product. They not only succeeded in doing so, but became pioneers of a new variety of apricot in South Africa that could revolutionise production of the fruit in this country.

The variety in question is the Carmingo, a range developed and owned by International Plant Selections (IPS) in Spain and France. These bicoloured apricots not only have excellent blush and eating quality, but lengthen the traditional November-December apricot picking season up until mid-March, when the market is relatively empty. As a result, income from these varieties can be up to three times more than for Bebeco and Imperial, South Africa’s principal apricot export varieties.