Neels Blom
1 December 2008
Johannesburg — YOU don't have to be a really big player in the fresh fruit industry to get your produce on the world market, but you do have to have your ducks in a row.
The edge for South African producers has traditionally been its southern season taking over when the off season begins in the northern hemisphere.
That, and the fact that the South African lowveld has an exceptionally long growing season producing high-quality fruit, has helped build SA's reputation as a fruit supplier internationally.
The trouble is, SA's southern competitors are taking advantage of the same conditions and greenhouse technologies are increasingly rendering the seasons obsolete. So what is an export business to do to stay ahead of the pack?
The GM of Blue Skies in SA, André Feldsman, says the answer is to run the business on the same principles as hedging, in which an investment is made specifically to cancel out the risk in another investment. For that reason, its operations straddle the equator, with factories in Egypt, Ghana, Brazil and SA, thus ensuring a continuous supply of cut and packed fruit to its customers, regardless of the season.
Blue Skies established its first plant in Ghana in 1998, where it is now responsible for 25% of that country's pineapple exports and about 1% of its total exports. By providing a market for growers of pineapple, papaya, coconut and mango, Blue Skies has stimulated the rapid growth of mango farming in the region.
About 65% of its product is consumed in the UK, with most of the balance in the Netherlands, France and Switzerland.
Feldsman says with the seasonal advantage decreasing, Blue Skies has had to make quality its differentiating factor. For that reason, nothing is added to the fruit -- "no chemicals or preservatives. European consumers want fresher, riper, prepared fruit."
To replicate the production process in SA, the business had to bear in mind a number of absolute factors. The first is the exacting cold-chain and fruit-quality standards demanded by European consumers and the European Union's sometimes absurdly stringent phyto-sanitary regulations.
European retailers also demand that imported produce comply with Globalgap (global good agricultural practice), which certifies agricultural products worldwide. It is primarily designed to reassure consumers about how food is produced on the farm by minimising the detrimental environmental effects of farming, reducing the use of chemical inputs and ensuring a responsible approach to worker health and safety animal welfare.
To meet these demands, Blue Skies has taken the factory to the producers -- in SA at Balfour on the Mpumalanga Highveld close to OR Tambo International -- rather than follow the intuitive notion of centralising production.
Another is a self-imposed principle, expressed by the company's founder, Anthony Pile, as adding value at the source, which means cutting the fruit where it is grown. That not only brings significant social and economic benefits to the country of origin, but also allows Blue Skies to supply fruit that has ripened in the orchard, instead of in cold storage.
That is achieved through logistic precision, with the shelf-ready product delivered to European supermarkets 36 hours after harvest in SA. The fruit is kept at or below 5°C at all times -- from its arrival at the Balfour factory, during transfer to and from airports and until it gets to the retailer.
Blue Skies' investment at Balfour was facilitated by the provincial investment body, Mpumalanga Economic Growth Agency (Mega). It started operating in 2004 and now employs about 150 people producing fresh fruit salads and juices.
Neither Mega nor Blue Skies favour larger producers over small-scale farmers, even though continuity of supply is often more secure at big farms.
"We prefer developing long-term relationships with small farmers," says Feldsman.
"We always work closely with our farmers and provide continuous training and support so that they are able to reach high ethical, environmental and agricultural standards, he says.
"We also help local communities by funding social projects where there is a need and donating to local schools and organisations.
"While we aim to ensure that all our products are traded fairly, we also support established schemes such as Fairtrade, which helps to give producers in the developing world a better deal," Feldsman says.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 Business Day. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
