the “miracle” of Namibia to fill Europe’s supermarkets with grapes

The country of ‘Namibia’ may a priori be truly unknown to many people, but the reality is that many of the grapes we buy in the EU come from here. a country practically desert that has been achieved and that a priori is not ready to host cultivation, but that has achieved something unusual: converting one of the most arid landscapes on the planet into a large grape plantation that compete in the most demanding markets.

An evolution. In this way, what three decades ago was a silent, sun-battered valley on the banks of the Orange River, Today it is the epicenter of the billion-dollar grape industry.. The Aussenkehr region has not only “greened” the desert, it has redefined the global table grape calendar.

The origin. The industry was born from the vision of Dusan Vasiljevican entrepreneur who in 1988 identified Aussenkehr’s hidden potential. The challenge was monumental: an environment with less than 50 liters of annual rainfall, a total lack of infrastructure and no previous experience in growing grapes in the area. A priori, only a madman could build a grape plantation here, since it seemed like a guaranteed waste of money. But in the end it was quite the opposite.

Overcoming critical financial obstacles, Vasiljevic planted the first 150 hectares, achieving an initial harvest of 1,000 tons in 1991. Since then, expansion has been constant. Collaboration between the private sector and entities such as the Namibia Grape Company (NGC) and the national government has allowed cultivation to be extended to more than 700 additional hectares, turning the valley into an engine of development that currently exports to a good part of the planet.

great growth. Namibia’s quantitative leap in recent decades is an economic case study without a doubt. The country’s ability to take advantage of its ideal climate for early harvests allows it to enter the European market before its competitors, obtaining very good prices.

This way, exports have passed from 1,917 tons in 1997 to having 7.5 billion cartons ready to ship this season. All this with a value that in 2023 reached 84.2 billion dollars.

Your logistics. Namibian success does not depend only on production, but on robust logistics. Right now the main market for this production company is in the European Union, which absorbs 75% of the production, followed by the United Kingdom and emerging markets in Asia. That is why the company’s focus has been on high-value varieties such as Arra Honey Pop and Arra Fire Crunch that offer greater flavor and, above all, more resistance in transportation.

Regarding its exit routes to other countries, the strategic ports of Walvis Bay and Cape Town stand out above all, which guarantee the necessary freshness for European shelves.

satellite images. But words can sometimes create confusion or even give rise to the idea that we are completely exaggerating. But the reality is that the satellite images do not deceive, and reveal a great contrast between the bright green of the plantations in contrast with the ocher sand of the Namib.

View from Google Earth of the grape plantation in Namibia

It is also fantastic for lovers of geometric shapes, since in the images you can clearly see different almost perfect green squares in the middle of an arid background. And the truth is that it seems a miracle that it has been possible to revitalize this land that now supplies the European market with a large quantity of grapes.

This is something that in 2010 was the focus of NASA that used he Advanced Land Imager and gave recent scientific studies, like those from WaterWatchwhich highlight that Namibia has achieved these yields with exceptional water efficiency, using precision irrigation systems that minimize waste of water from the Orange River.

Socioeconomic impact. Beyond foreign currency, grapes have become the livelihood of thousands of families in this area. Right now, the industry supports 3,500 permanent workers and 7,000 temporary employees during harvest peaks. Furthermore, this model has been praised in international forums such as Davos, where it was presented as an example of how irrigated agriculture can be sustainable and profitable in arid regions of sub-Saharan Africa.

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