South Africa’s pomegranate exports grew by 40 per cent during the 2014 season and similar growth is expected for the coming campaign, according to a report published in industry association Hortgro’s latest Annual Review.
With more and more high-quality production coming online with the maturation of recent plantings, the country appears well placed to meet increasing demand for the fruit in markets such as the EU, Middle East, Africa and Asia.
According to Jack Wittles, chairman of the Pomegranate Association of South Africa, better awareness of the fruit’s health properties is combining with periods of under-supply out of the Southern Hemisphere at certain times of year to create a highly favourable trading environment for the country’s burgeoning pomegranate sector.
What’s more, market access to more countries is expected to further enhance the export potential for South African-grown pomegranates.
Pomasa recently embarked on a new initiative to become more self-sustainable as a grower association and to that end has negotiated the implementation of statutory levies from export fruit in future.
“The process is currently in progress and aiming to be officially implemented by 2016,” Wittles explained. “The contributions from levies will be allocated towards industry enabling, transformation and support towards prioritised research and development projects for the industry.”
Wittles also revealed that new export standards set to be approved ahead of the 2015 export season provide for a so-called ‘extra class’ superior quality standard, which would enhance the South African pomegranate industry’s image and likely boost returns on international markets.
