Israel’s MOR Group will no longer hold the sole marketing rights for Sharon fruit from South Africa when the new season starts in April next year. The single channel marketing system, which has governed Sharon fruit exports for the past decade and a half, was abandoned at the recent Sharon fruit from South Africa (SFOSA) meeting.
Although growers that have planted Sharon fruit in South Africa over this period will now be able to choose their exporter, they will not be able to use the Sharon fruit brand unless they export their fruit through Arisa, the packing operation near Swellendam in the Southern Cape.
Arisa will also have the sole rights to the Sharon fruit brand in South Africa for the 2012 season, but other marketers may be granted rights to the brand on the local market by 2013 if they prove their credentials during 2012.
SFOSA has been replaced by the Sharon Growers Group (SGG), which will be responsible for all research and market access issues in the future. The new Chairman of SGG, Des Mudge, told Fruitnet.com that Arisa will retain close to 70 per cent of the harvest during 2012.
“Nine growers will be packing their fruit at Franschhoek Packers who have made investments in their packing operations to be able to handle the product,” Mudge said.
He confirmed that Franschhoek Marketing will be exporting the fruit under their F-1 brand. “The fruit will be labeled as ‘Kaki’ on the carton.”
Franschhoek Marketing executive Jan Hoon confirmed that Franschhoek Packers will pack around 800,000 2.3kg cartons during the 2012 season.
“The existing marketing channel has been unable to cope with the marketing of the South African crop,' said Mudge, 'which normally arrives in a declining market in Europe and has to be sold within six weeks to avoid conflict with the European summer crops.”
He added that growers had experienced a disastrous 2011 season, with the E coli scares in Europe affecting marketing. “The previous year, external factors such as the South African transport strike also affected our business adversely,' he said. 'This brought about increasing unhappiness with the marketing system which led to the decision to abandon the single channel system.”
He revealed that there had been an attempt to retain a single desk marketing operation, but with multiple exporters, but this had been unsuccessful.
Mudge said the critical factors that would determine the success of the Sharon fruit business in South Africa were a swift harvesting, packing and shipping programme which would reduce the risk of getting caught up in the European summer fruit season. “We will also have to increasingly develop the South African market where there are good prospects for Sharon fruit,” he said.
Outgoing SFOSA Chairman, Dr Jerome Sedgwick, said that with the present volume of fruit having to be sold within a period of just six weeks there was very little margin for error.“
The smallest thing that disrupts the marketing programme causes a knock-on effect which affects returns. Growers have been unhappy with the situation for some time and it is therefore not surprising that the matter has now taken this turn.”
Arisa will still retain the lion’s share of the Sharon fruit export business, while MOR International will remain the dominant player in Sharon fruit from South Africa.
Arisa is expected to pack some 2.6m 2.3kg cartons next season and will continue with its successful marketing campaign in South Africa, which saw a dramatic improvement in both sales and returns during the past season.
Some growers hope that the competition that will result from new exporters entering the fray will boost sales and provide better returns. Others, however, point to the fact that the new system could lead to increased competition on prices, which could further impact returns to growers.
