Nelspruit, South Africa — Banana farmers in Mpumalanga and the Northern Province sent their first batch of bananas to Libya on Wednesday in a bid to secure a new overseas market.

Elated manager of the Banana Growers Association, Wikus Joubert, said that 45 000 cartons of bananas were being shipped from Maputo harbour in Mozambique. "This is our first consignment and it'll arrive in Libya about 15 days from now," Joubert said.

He said the deal followed six nail-biting weeks of negotiation with Libyan trading expert, Saade Souheil, and Dutch shipping agent, Ries Jongerius.

Libya approached the association with a demand for 100 000 cartons of bananas per month.

"If they are happy with the quality of our product we will then sign a long-term contract with them," said Joubert.

He said the deal would challenge farmers to meet international standards and also created job opportunities.

Libya had strict conditions and requirements, which include size of the bananas, quality and the method of packing.

He said experts had developed ways of ensuring that the fruit did not get ripe at sea. "One of the conditions is that the fruit should ripen only after reaching Libya," Joubert explained.

Mpumalanga Investment Initiative official, Andrew Bulter, said the deal illustrated that the vision of the Maputo Development Corridor had become a reality.

Bulter urged other industries to use explore export opportunities provided by the Maputo Corridor, which extends along the N4 toll road from Witbank in Mpumalanga to Maputo. - African Eye News Service