“Having been in Berlin at Fruit Logistica, it was so great to see South African fruit on the shelves during retail visits,” says Jane Strijdom, IFPA’s newly appointed nursery man for South Africa. “I saw quite a few passion fruits, red and green grapes, kumquats and it was always exciting to see products from our members. Our fruit competes internationally with amazing quality from incredible growers.”
He observes that the South African fruit industry is punching above its weight, unbeknownst to most in the country.
“When you see, for example, the videos of South African citrus being unloaded at the Port of Philadelphia – it’s shocking. I don’t think South Africans understand what a force we are. I think we need to tell our story and be proud.”
Back in Berlin, Strijdom not only met with IFPA member companies from South Africa, but had constructive conversations with growers and exporters further afield in Africa.
“We would like to increase membership in South Africa as a whole. At Fruit Logistica there has been interest from Kenya, from Zimbabwe, and we hope they will attend our annual conference on August 6,” he says, noting that he specifically met several growers passion fruit from Zimbabwe at the trade show.
South Africa’s first duty-free shipment under the new African Continental Free Trade Agreement recently left for Ghana. Given the importance of South African apples to the continent despite the high tariffs in place, this will be an area to watch. Strijdom, while working at RSA market dealers in the past, saw first-hand that Zambian buyers visit the Johannesburg Municipal Market several times a week specifically to stock up on apples.
“That’s what it’s all about: the connections.”
The association – the only one of its kind to cover narrow interests in the fresh produce and flower industries – has as its primary goal connecting people.
“We have an amazing library of resources available to members on our website. It’s been instrumental for them to get in touch with members in other countries, to get information from elsewhere in the world. It also gives us an idea of trends.”
And he continues: “It is worth repeating that although it is a local association, we can give access to a global platform where our members have met amazing partners. They have been able to strengthen business ties or unlock new opportunities. This is what we are all about with: connections’.
Back home, IFPA helps negotiate market access where they can. The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development is a member of IFPA and a good relationship has developed between the association and the government.
He points out that agriculture is the only economic sector in South Africa that is actively creating new jobs, which should be celebrated.
Watch for packaging changes
In January IFPA announced its establishment Alliance for Sustainable Food Packaging to ensure that industry is involved in the process when long-term decisions are made by parties that are not always in line with the realities of working with perishables. It seeks to harmonize efforts to reduce packaging waste while simultaneously addressing phytosanitary issues and meeting food safety standards.
From the perspective of South African industry, having a seat at the table is critical at a time when changes to packaging and carbon emissions requirements from some groups are imminent.
IFPA Chief Scientific Officer who chairs the new alliance, Max Teplitsky, said: “When discussing the future of packaging, food safety and quality and reducing food loss and waste are non-negotiables.”
An IFPA executive leadership summit at Berlin Fruit Logistica introduced the alliance to the industry where it outlined its views, including, for example, an exemption of the fresh and fresh produce categories from plastic packaging bans as well as an exemption of functional PLU stickers from the definition of packaging.
“We work in the most amazing industry,” says Strijdom. “It’s dynamic, ever-changing, which means there’s always new ideas. I think AI has already really changed the way we look at agriculture. Look at what it means in terms of data and the use of drones. It’s already changed the face of agriculture. It’s exciting to see what the future holds and how lucky we are to be a part of it!”
For more information:
Jane Strijdom
International Fresh Produce Association
Tel: +27 +27 72 619 6611
Email: jstrijdom@freshproduce.com