Las Vegas-headquartered Terra Exports has opened an office in South Africa.
Operating under the name Terra Exports Africa, the new operation will be based in the Western Cape. When it came to choosing the location, Terra Exports identified the potential to increase exports from the picturesque region.
“With the quality of South African fresh produce improving over the last few years, we believe in the region’s growth potential to play a larger role in the European, Middle Eastern, and Asian markets,” said Ankia Rabie who is leading Terra Exports Africa.
With citrus continuing to account for the lion’s share of fresh produce exports from South Africa, Terra Exports will naturally have a hand in this trade. However, the company has also expressed its desire to develop meaningful sales programmes for avocados, blueberries, apples, pears, grapes, stonefruit, cherries, and subtropicals from the Sothern Hemisphere nation.
With a global sales team, Rabie said Terra Exports had the ability to compare market demand, prices, and availability of products from different supply regions, allowing it to quickly respond to opportunities that arise in the various markets it supplies.
“In the fruit industry information is an invaluable resource and we believe this first hand market information will be key to all of our suppliers and growing this new division,” Rabie explained.
“Terra Exports has experienced significant growth, and states the African division is part of their sales and customer service goals to remain on this growth trajectory for 2019.”
Nils Goldschmidt, president of Terra Exports, said it had long been his vision to establish an operation in Africa.
“For years I've wanted to have a presence in Africa, but finding the right person to lead it was a barrier,” he explained. “Once we found Ankia, who was a perfect match for our core company values, I knew it was time to launch.
“The African division itself will allow us to continue solving our customers' and growers' problems (that's really all we do), and it will keep all of our team members engaged and proud to be a part of our growing company.”
