As one of the leading seed houses in South Africa, Sakata are as a basic input supplier an important part of the vegetable production cycle. The company's philosophy is to build partnerships with clients and one of the characteristics of this partnership relationship is to be alert to any marketing opportunities for the final product.
South Africa has a well developed export market to Europe for fruit but the vegetable side still has to be developed. Sakata have made some significant inroads into the UK especially with onions, novelty tomatoes and more recently their butternuts and grey- skin pumpkins.“South African Sun ripened butternuts and pumpkins"
Climatic conditions in South Africa are ideal for the production of these crops with the result that the end product is of the highest quality with excellent taste and loaded with all the health benefits that you can get from fruit that has been produced under such conditions. Kobus van Heerden, National Marketing Manager at Sakata, says, "We have developed the perfect varieties in this regard - preferred by the UK market - and due to the outstanding yield potential, the production of these varieties has a substantially reduced carbon footprint (less water, fertilizer etc. per kg of fruit produced) compared to the norm for these products. Due to the country's climate diversity we can produce these products all year round to ensure continuity of supply."
Kobus van Heerden
Sakata Seeds Southern Africa (Pty) Ltd
Office : +27 11 548 2800
Mobile : +27 83 645 8586
Kobus.VanHeerden@sakata.eu
www.sakata.co.za