The new season is well underway at Betko, with early summer pears having set the pace over the past few weeks. Early Bon Chretien, Rosemarie, and Cheeky were the first fruit of the season to move through our intake, and the packhouses have steadily found their rhythm again after the festive break.
All Early Bon Chretien pears are now in for the season, and we are nearing the end of the Rosemarie intake as well. Overall, the quality of the early pears has looked good. At this stage, fruit is coming in clean and healthy, while sizing remains something we continue to monitor as volumes have increased. With warm days and limited rainfall over this period, water on the farms has been managed very carefully. Although there have been small pockets of rain in some areas, this has not been enough to significantly ease irrigation requirements, and orchard teams remain focused on careful scheduling during this early part of the season.
While the current season continues to build, our packhouses are also still busy with fruit carried over from the 2025 season. Pre-sorting and packing is ongoing on Goldens, Granny Smith, and Cripps Red apples that have been stored under controlled conditions. This overlap between seasons plays an important role in maintaining consistency, allowing fruit from the previous season to move through the system while new-season fruit continues to arrive.
We have also seen the first apples of the new season come in. Bigbucks from Soetmelksvlei was the first to arrive. Early apple volumes are still limited at this stage, but fruit is starting to make its way to the packhouse, and intake is expected to build steadily. As the season progresses, Panorama Goldens, followed by Royal Galas will continue to come on stream. In the coming two weeks, we expect packhouse activity to be running at full steam as apple volumes increase.
This early stage of the season is about finding balance. Intake volumes are growing, packhouses are active across multiple rooms, and teams are adjusting as conditions change from day to day. From orchard-level decisions around water management to packhouse focus on handling, temperature control, and flow, the emphasis remains on doing the basics well and building consistency as the season gains momentum.
As more cultivars start coming in over the weeks ahead, the pace will naturally increase. With early pears largely wrapped up and the first apples already arriving, both farms and packhouses are fully engaged and ready for the season that lies ahead.