For South Africa to remain the supplier of choice to Britain among the southern hemisphere countries, growers say they must stay abreast of fast-changing consumer trends and more stringent quality protocols, as well as improving the colour of their bi-coloured apple varieties.
One of the most important changes faced by the South African fruit sector during the past 120 years was dealing with the effects of deregulation. Fruitways is one of a number of very successful new exporters to have emerged and which is carrying on the tradition of close ties with the UK market.
Fruitways’ commercial director Stefan Conradie says the UK market still represents a critical part of the Fruitways export portfolio, making up a third of its export volume in apples and pears. “The growth rate in apple and pear consumption in the UK is flat, which makes it difficult to grow volume exports to this market,” he says.
He explains that tastes have generally stayed the same, with old faithfuls like Royal Gala, Granny Smith, Braeburn and Pink Lady representing the majority of sales. Newer varieties like Kanzi have potential but will take time to find a regular place on shelf.
Conradie says higher-colour strains of bi-colour apples are in high demand, and retailers are definitely becoming more sensitive about quality and colour to ensure the best possible offering to their customers. “Consumers are showing a clear preference for the new flow wrap packaging versus the old bag concept, and are also tending to buy smaller packages with fewer apples or pears to limit waste.”
According to Conradie the rapid growth of the c-store format has supported the growth in sales of convenience packaging formats. “The UK will remain an extremely important market for South Africa as our size profile fits the preferences of the UK market. The fact that most of the South African products can be pre-packed at source still gives us a competitive advantage over other southern hemisphere producing countries in this market.”
Elsewhere, there is a new wave of consolidation around supply chains in South Africa that is transforming the industry.
GoReefers is one of the leaders from the post-regulation era that continues to expand its business across southern Africa. “The logistics business has become increasingly competitive, and those who are not super efficient are falling by the wayside,” says chief executive Dalena Engelbrecht.
The company has increasingly focused on logistics and IT systems that could be integrated back to packhouse level and allow growers and exporters to have real-time information about the flow of their products. “It is a huge balancing act to move containers in an era marked increasingly by congestion in ports and increased bureaucracy imposed by political decisions that are affecting the trading environment.”
Pieter du Toit of Dutoit Agri says the consolidation of service providers and streamlining of the supply chain was a very uncertain period which caused high tension. “These structural changes were absolutely necessary. Taking cost out of the operation in order to stay competitive remains vital,” he says.
GoReefers not only serves the South African export industry but has played a crucial role in the development of the grape export business from Namibia. Exports in early grapes from Namibia are expected to double over the next five years.
