US producer and marketer Sun World International has granted South African exporter Stems Fruit approval to join its international network of licensed stonefruit marketers, extending the reach of what is one of the world's largest table grape and stonefruit breeding programmes.
A relatively new player in South Africa's export business, Stems Fruit joins Sun World's two other stonefruit licensees in the country, Capespan Exports and Green Marketing International, and is set to provide the California-based firm with a 'solid producer base as well as a professional and expert stonefruit management team'.
Stems Fruit shares an office in Paarl, 60km north-east of Cape Town, with one of its co-founders, specialist table grape marketer and co-founder The Grape Company.
The company was founded in September 2011 by experienced stonefruit marketer Annelie Haumann, who in conjunction with shareholder producers and The Grape Company itself has reportedly established a solid supply channel for various categories of premium stonefruit and already managed to capture business in the UK, mainland Europe and Asian markets.
Along with Capespan and Green Marketing, Stems Fruit becomes part of a larger international network of 19 marketing companies licensed to handle Sun World stonefruit varieties.
These companies include: Montague Fresh and Freshmax Holdings in Australia; Dole Chile, Gesex and Tuniche (Chile); Apofruit and Agrintesa (Italy); El Ciruelo and Tany Nature (Spain); Yummy Fruit Co and Fresh NZ 2000 (New Zealand); Kibbutz Ayelet Hashachar, Rafkor Cooling and Rani Barness (Israel); and Wawona Packing Company, Wes-Pak Sales and Sunwest Fruit Company (California, US).
Stems Fruit's accession to the Sun World collective means it can now market a wide range of plums including several black-skinned, red-fleshed varieties sold under the company's Black Diamond brand.
The portfolio also includes a line of black-skinned, yellow-flesh plums marketed as Black Giant, a series of early-ripening apricots distributed under the Honeycot label and a range of early-ripening peaches sold using the Amber Crest trademark.
