Roelf Pienaar, Tru-Cape Fruit Marketing managing director says: “After the hail of 2014, we always knew that we would have significantly more volume to market this season. There have been factors outside of our control such as the weakening of the Euro against the South African Rand, political uncertainty in Africa, unstable oil prices, which all had an effect on fruit prices as well as the liquidity of the market. Overall, however, it has been better than expected.”
At the start of the season sizes were predicted to be small, Pienaar, “Tru-Cape is fortunate to be sourcing from different geographical areas in South Africa that peak on different sizes. So the sizing was as expected at the beginning of the season.”
“Although there have been challenges this year in terms of Africa as mentioned earlier, our growth has been steady. The growth has not been at the same rate as previous years, but we always knew that at some stage the Africa percentage growth would stabilise. We are, however, pleased with the growth especially in our cross-border business (Zambia, Mozambique), where our new Johannesburg facility plays a vital role," said Pienaar about the African market. “We can replenish local retailers and clients more frequently. Our City Deep, Johannesburg facility has also enabled us to move closer to our customers, which is what it is all about.”
Pienaar explains that although there has been more fruit available on the local market, the Tru-Cape's relationship with their local clients, as well as the strength of the Tru-Cape brand, helped to stimulate demand. The company also supplies markets worldwide, "We are in the Far and Middle East as well as UK, Europe and the US. Although prices in foreign currency are under pressure, we have relationships that have been in place for more than a decade. In terms of pricing, the year is panning out as expected.”
For more information:
Roelf Pienaar
Tru-Cape
Tel: +27 (021) 8501804/ (079) 5170777
Email: roelfp@Tru-Cape.co.za
www.Tru-Cape.co.za