Exporting is a natural extension to any fruit marketing company in South Africa, and so it was for Proudly Produce, established in 2017, initially only to supply local retail but organically advancing to international trade.
Right: peaches currently packed for Proudly Produce
Proudly Produce is partly owned by the Timberlea Farming Trust, a group of ten farms from Villiersdorp in the south to the Koue Bokkeveld. The farms within the Trust provide Proudly Produce with 45% of its trading volumes, with the remainder sourced externally.
"Every week we buy in at least fifteen different types of fruit - everything from blueberries to strawberries to Brussels sprouts, in response to what our clients request," says Gustav Claassen, director at Stellenbosch-based Proudly Produce office.
Soft citrus produced on the Trust's farms is supplied to local and international supermarket programmes.
Good stonefruit crop, but harvesting is always a stressful period
The new apple season starts in two weeks on farms in Mpumalanga and the Free State, with Golden Delicious and Royal Gala being the first available varieties. Apples are the foundation of fruit trade in Africa, facilitated by weekly 'fruit-friendly' shipping options that take an average of 18 to 20 days as well as overland trade as far afield as Malawi and Tanzania. "Apples open the door, and then it's important to offer the client a basket of products in which grapes are increasingly playing a role. We're doing a lot of business in grapes in East and West Africa, particularly on red grapes."
Proudly Produce supplies the Indian Ocean Islands with an array of fruit. As with African countries, Claassen remarks, it started with apples and pears, which then led to orders for berries and grapes.
Stonefruit is another key area of their business. One of the largest nectarine growers in the country delivers to them, with much of the produce destined for the United Kingdom, a traditional destination for South African stonefruit. "It's been a typical season, with a good crop and enthusiastic partners in the UK receiving our product," he says. "However, it remains a stressful period as we constantly monitor the weather, not only for picking and packing but also for loading at port."
He continues: "There are wonderful opportunities for nectarines in the United States, and I am hopeful that the cold treatment protocol will eventually be eased, as it did in the case of India when the trade volumes increased."
In the past year, they have received a significant number of inquiries into plums from their African counterparts. "Consequently, we plan to concentrate primarily on Africa and the Islands, leveraging the availability of plums out of South Africa and supporting a substantial class 2 programme."
Asia beckons
"We supply the entire range of pears, from Bon Chretien to Forelle. We'll be sending pears to India, mostly Packham and Forelle. The market is very enthusiastic about South African Forelle."
There is no shortage of interest from Indian buyers. "It helps when you can talk about the Indian Premier League [cricket] or name your favourite Bollywood movie!"
These days China presents another option to a South African pear marketer. "The pear industry really needed the breath of fresh air that's been injected by India and China. Asia is a region where we'd like to enlarge our footprint. I think there are incredibly good opportunities there, not only for pears but for apples as well. It has become an indispensable part of our planning on apples."
For more information:
Gustav Claassen
Proudly Produce
Tel: +27 84 333 3454
Email: [email protected]
https://www.proudlyproduce.co.za