Our location

The Ceres Valley, named after the Roman goddess of fertility, is renowned for producing some of the best quality fruit in the world.

It is home to our farms: Lushof, Romansrivier, Welgemeen (60% empowerment) and we are mentoring Trevor Abrahams (a new first generation farmer), on his farm called Trevor’s Farm. In a season we will handle fruit from 26 different production units which consists of 130 different varieties. They stretch across a 50km radius and are between 500 and1 200m above sea level.

Approximately 160km North-east from Cape Town, the Ceres Valley is the source of the Breede- and Olifants riviers. Within our four production units, the geographical setting produces chill hours that fluctuate between 600 and 1400 Richardson units, while heat units range between 30 000 and 45 000. It means that we experience a range of climates – from alpine forest to semi-desert, giving us an advantage to grow varieties where they best suited.

Taking a number of variables into consideration, such as different soil types and whether a slope is north- or south-facing, each variety is grown where the terroir is most suitable. You’ll find cherries, for example, where it snows in winter and early peaches and nectarines where there is no spring frost. To make sure that there is no infringement on our sensitive environment, we regularly conduct environmental impact studies.

For more than ten years now, Graaff Fruit has taken advantage of the valley’s high winter chill to produce several new peach, nectarine and plum varieties that are ideally suited to the local conditions. Mostly Bradford and Zaiger, PSB and Sunworld varieties, we can proudly say that they are far superior to previous varieties grown in the area.