The outlook for South Africa's berry industry has been further brightened following the formation of a national industry body.
The creation of the South African Berry Producers Association (SABPA) follows recent efforts made by the country's Industrial Development Corporation aimed at bringing key players in the blueberry, raspberry and blackberry sectors together, with Hortgro Services set to act as the group's secretariat under the chairmanship of Eurafruit's Trevor Mackenzie.
'A key objective will be to ensure an economically viable and sustainable berry industry through coordinated joint actions as agreed from time to time,' said MacKenzie, adding that the South African industry is now well organised and able to win market share by offering consistent quality throughout the season.
'We will also establish uniform grading regulations for berries produced in South Africa and liaise with other berry groups locally and internationally to exchange information of mutual benefit.
'We will also be looking to promote sales and consumption of berries and facilitate relevant research.'
Steady season
At the halfway stage of the current export season, South Africa's blueberry industry was on track to export around 1,200 tonnes, 50 per cent up on the previous campaign.
'We are just about finished with the Southern High Bush varieties, which are grown mainly in the George, Villiersdorp and Saron areas of the Western Cape,' reported MacKenzie in December.
In addition, South Africa will export around 1,000 tonnes of raspberries this season, while exports of blackberries remain relatively small by comparison.
The UK continues to take most of South Africa's blueberry exports, but new opportunities are being explored elsewhere in Europe and in Asia.
'We have started opening up new opportunities in the Far East, where customers in Hong Kong, Singapore and Indonesia are receiving our blueberries for the first time this year,' MacKenzie revealed.
'We are taking those developments one step at a time to establish strong relationships with customers in the region.'
