An increase in new plantings of the variety has led to a rapid rise in production
Following a surge in new plantings of the Bigbucks apple variety, mainly between the years 2018-2020, the annual harvest is now rapidly increasing.
“This is a solid performance as the first commercial orchard was established as recently as 2014,” said Anthony Rawbone-Viljoen, director of holding company Pink Vein.
Pink Vein owns the intellectual property of the Bigbucks variety, and is led by Elgin growers Derek Corder and Anthony Rawbone-Viljoen, along with well-known apple and pear expert Buks Nel.
The name Pink Vein is derived from the pink or red vein that, rather uniquely for a Gala, runs down the back of a Bigbucks leaf. It is one of the distinguishing characteristics of the variety, together with a red stem and pink-red blossoms.
Bigbucks has created much excitement in the South African apple industry since its arrival a decade ago.
It has also resulted in a unique branding programme, with Flash Gala becoming a strong new force in South African exports.
It has also helped to propel the Gala category to the position of the biggest apple category in the country.
“There are now 2.58mn trees in the ground in South Africa alone, which makes Bigbucks the fastest growing variety in the history of the South African apple industry,” Rawbone-Viljoen continued. ”So far 1,500ha of the variety have been planted in the country.”
Production had responded accordingly, he confirmed, and more than 1.9mn cartons were packed for all markets in 2024, both local and export.
“This reflects a volume growth of 56.3 per cent between the 2023 and 2024 seasons,” Rawbone-Viljoen noted.
Flash Gala is a premium offering and has highest specifications in terms of both pressure and colour, he said.
Bigbucks, meanwhile, is shipped mainly to African destinations, including the local South African market where a less rigorous standard is applied, albeit at the same level of quality – as is the case with other Gala equivalents.
The most important markets for fruit meeting the Flash Gala brand standard are India and the Far East, notably China.
In the case of Bigbucks, the major markets are India, Africa and the Middle East.
The Flash Gala trademark has been registered in all the important apple consuming countries of the world, and the long-term goal is to create a premium offering for consumers under the Flash Gala brand.
“To this end an external inspectorate has been appointed to monitor fruit quality at packhouse level to ensure the integrity of the Flash Gala brand going forward,” explained Rawbone-Viljoen.
”From a technical viewpoint, a key focus area has been on fruit maturity as the extremely high colouration potential of the variety makes the background colour of the fruit at harvest time a difficult visual task to assess and manage.”
The ABCz Nursery of Belgium is the master agent worldwide, excluding Africa south of the Sahara, and Plant Breeders Rights (PBR) were granted to the Bigbucks variety in Australia in April 2024 through Fruit Varieties International of Tasmania.
“The long-awaited decision on the granting of Plant Breeders’ Rights for improved Gala types in the EU is imminent, with the Bigbucks variety seen as a leading contender,” he noted.
Plant Patent Rights have been awarded to Bigbucks in the US and an application has been made for PBR in China as the high colouration and sweetness of the variety is eminently suitable to the taste profile of Chinese consumers.
Outside of South Africa, plantings of Bigbucks have taken place in the US, the EU and more recently in Australia.
