The South African Western Cape Citrus Producers Forum (WCCPF) has announced the appointment of Suhanra Conradie as its new chief executive officer, replacing Joretha Geldenhuys who had served as the Forum's CEO since 2009.
'Suhanra brings a wealth of knowledge in dealing with foreign markets, as well as expertise in all aspects of growth, distribution, and supply in the fruit export industry,' said Gerrit van der Merwe, chairman of the WCCPF. 'With her in place, we expect to continue the development, expansion and success of our position in the US market.'
Conradie recently directed marketing, finance and sales efforts for Oceanic Fruit Exports in South Africa, focusing on bringing fruits from the farm, to packing house, to the final market destination, interacting in markets such as Europe, the UK and the Middle East.
'I am very excited to accept this role, which will enable me to fulfill a long-held professional desire to bring South African citrus fruit in the United States, the most important market in the world,' she explained. 'Consumption of South African summer citrus continues to grow as a welcomed category by US consumers – something attributable to the high quality and delicious flavour consistent with fruit produced by our growers.'
The WCCPF is a consortium of 350 South African growers eligible to export summer citrus to the US, with South African citrus exports to the US beginning in 1999.
