Dutch biological control specialist Koppert has expanded into the South African market.
Thecompany already has two African sales offices, in Morocco and Kenya, and has just added South Africa to the list saying it is more than promising.
Koppert MD Henri Oosthoek said: “The continent of Africa can expect to see a great many developments in the field of agriculture and horticulture over the coming decades. The Koppert offices in Morocco and Kenya are outstanding examples of this.”
SouthAfrica was chosen as Koppert's third location on the continent because it is one of the emerging economies of the BRICS group. Oosthoek said: “A growing domestic economy and a rising middle class will cause the demand for safe food products to increase even further.”
The new branch is a joint venture together with Koppert’s former distribution partner Vista Verde. Koppert South Africa will focus primarily on the sales of natural enemies and microbiological products for greenhouse cultivation of vegetables and flowers.
The use of Koppert’s most important natural enemies has already been authorised and these productsare available on a weekly basis, the company said.
Koppert expects that the number of authorisations will rise quickly, meaning that a complete package of biological beneficials will soon be availablefor South Africa’s growers.
