The first shipment of Capespan South African Gala will be in the UK in mid-February. The organisation will bring 300,000 cartons into the UK this season, along with around one million cartons of both Golden Delicious and Granny Smith.
The biggest climb in terms of export to the UK will be registered by Pink Lady, which is forecast to increase in volume from 160,000t to 200,000t, while Fairtrade branded apples will also see an expansion of availability.
Meanwhile, Capespan is telling its growers in South Africa to reduce their dependence on the declining rand. Managing director Neil Oosthuizen said in the latest issue of Capespan Courier that performance must reach levels that are sustainable whatever the stature of the local currency on international financial markets.
Doing well in a hostile environment is no longer a dream, he added, pointing to progress made in the last 12 months as a benchmark. “We again made systematic progress to offer our producers the best options in both development of new markets and customers,” he said.
Capespan marketed 63 million cartons of fruit around the world in 2003, of which 17m were produced outside South Africa. “We are, outside the banana industry, one of the most significant fresh produce marketing organisations,” said Oosthuizen. “We have proved the value of our information and other systems during 2003 and our customers have confirmed that it is amongst the best in the world.”
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