ZA Trevor Abrahams Isaac Maphalle DoA Wes Kaap

Trevor Abrahams and Isaac Maphalle of the Department of Agriculture's Western Cape division inspecting South African grapes at a branch of Marks & Spencer last week (Photo: Hortgro)

The first chief executive of Fruit South Africa, the pan-industry body formed to address common issues among the country’s various fruit export associations, joined representatives from marketing agency Hortgro and the South African Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries on a fact-finding mission to the UK last week.

Konanani Liphadzi (pictured below with grower Richard Myburgh)was appointed last year to lead Fruit SA’s ethical, consumer assurance and market development activities as well as liasing with government and other industry stakeholders.

Last week, she was part of a delegation that visited supermarkets and importers in the UK last week before heading to Berlin for the annual Fruit Logistica trade show.

While the UK market remains very much a central part of the South African fruit export portfolio, the past couple of years have seen the country’s exporters turn some of their attention to new, emerging markets outside Europe.

“The UK and German campaigns have been scaled down over the last two years to a maintenance phase, whilst pilot campaigns are planned for the Middle and Far East,” confirmed Hortgro’s general manager for trade and markets, Jacques Du Preez, who helped to co-ordinate the visit.

Richard Myburgh and Konanani Liphadzi

Nevertheless, for stonefruit alone, the UK remains South Africa’s largest export destination, taking around 40 per cent of its peach exports and 54 per cent for nectarines.

“The volumes exported to the UK have indicated positive growth over the last couple of seasons and have increased with 24 per cent and 9 per cent respectively year on year,” revealed Pieter de Necker, chairman of the South African Stone Fruit Producers’ Association.

For her part, some of Liphadzi’s focus is on bedding down the country’s fruit sustainability and ethical trading initiative SIZA, a project that evidently has a great amount of resonance among UK fresh produce buyers.

Fruit South Africa was formed by the Citrus Growers’ Association of Southern Africa, Hortgro (representing stonefruit, apples and pears), South African Table Grape Industry, Subtrop (representing avocados, mangoes, litchis and macadamias) and the Fresh Produce Exporters Forum.

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