An innovative market approach to analysing the impact of policy changes to South Africa's peach cultivar market

The global peach and nectarine industry have achieved major milestones in producing good quality and high quantities of cultivars. The proliferation of cultivars national boundaries has been facilitated by various polices such as intellectual property policy, trade policies and production policies. This paper analyses the quality trends of eight genetic attributes in the cultivars that were used in South Africa's fresh export market between 1956 and 2015 that has resulted from the policy facilitated development in this market. Ranking “quality” in the cultivars' attributes was achieved by utilising a three-point Likert scale and this was done according to the characteristics' ability to meet the industry's changing production and consumer demands. The results of the analysis show a general improvement in quality for both the production and organoleptic cultivar characteristics. The paper showcases the positive contribution of scientific research to market development and makes a case for an increase in financial support for cultivar development.