Last week Namibian grapes faced several headwinds: the Vioolsdrif/Noordoewer border between Namibia and South Africa was several times closed due to Covid-19, while Cape Town harbour was wind-bound, as often happens this time of the year.
“It was an exceptionally challenging week logistically but we came through it fine, with a lot of support from the Namibian government and in fact, it led to some positive developments,” says Nico van der Merwe (right), managing director and founder of Naturesmart, a newly established South African-Namibian fresh produce exporter with a current focus on table grapes.
“The Namibian government is very favourably disposed towards the table grape industry.”
On the Namibian side some procedures have been expedited for the drivers of grape-carrying trucks, while on the South African side a walk-in Covid testing centre has been set up, giving a driver a diagnosis within half an hour.
Record grape crop for Namibia
“The Namibian season is still behind but we’re catching up nicely. It’s going to be a busy week or two, but then I expect we’ll be back on schedule."
"We are now in our peak weeks – weeks 49, 50 and 51 – and by the end of next week I think we’ll be very close to our crop estimate,” says Nico, also chairperson of the Namibian Grape Growers Association.
Right: Prime Seedless
Namibia will definitely take off seven million cartons (4.5kg) this year, he says, which is a record for Namibia in terms of volumes. This is also due to new developments starting to bear fruit, he adds.
He is very pleased with the entire grape package this year: eating quality, berry size and all indicators of good shelf life (like firmness of the berry, its attachment to the stem, the sugar:acid ratio) are spot on.
Process visibility 
Naturesmart is a fresh produce retail supplier in Namibia and South Africa trading in vegetables (butternut, peppers, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, plus all specialities in those lines) and table grapes, which the company sources from Okahandja, north of Windhoek, taking in Aussenkehr and Noordoewer, all the way down to Paarl in the Western Cape.
“At Naturesmart we focus on transparency,” he sets out.
“We aim to be a direct link between the producer and the market. From farm to fork, Naturesmart is a dynamic innovative agri-supply chain partner that eliminates costly middlemen, simplifying the links in the chain and ultimately creating value for farmers."
He continues: "We make the entire chain visible to the producer, showing every single cost along the chain. With our Naturesmart App a producer can follow a container through every step of the process. We make sure that the freshest quality food gets from the farm gate to the consumer's table better, faster, cheaper."
Emphasis on community, research and innovation
“Our next step is to make sure we involve the community. We want to be involved in every community where our products are grown and in this way the consumer can make a connection with the community. We focus on the story and the people behind the product.”
Right: Flame Seedless (photos supplied by Naturesmart)
Technology lies at the heart of how they approach fresh produce trade, and it’s a natural progression to the online trading platform – not a deli, Nico stresses, but a dedicated fresh produce platform – that they are working to launch early next year.
The online platform is going to be trialled for a quarter before rolled out in the northern suburbs of Cape Town.
Already a new packaging concept of theirs is the subject of consumer trials at a number of UK retailers. “It’s completely our own concept, self-financed as well. We’re very proud of it, and if all goes well it will be rolled out during the next grape season.“
For more information:
Nico van der Merwe
Naturesmart Foods
Tel: +27 21 007 2286
Email: nico@naturesmartsa.com
https://www.facebook.com/naturesmartfoods/