South African Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, Thoko Didiza, signed an agreement on Tuesday with Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi , on behalf of Chinese Agriculture Minister Tang Ranijan, for the export of avocados to the People’s Republic of China.
Didiza expressed her excitement about this agreement with China as the South Africa government has been working hard to unlock this export opportunity for local farmers.
“Gaining access to China is a vital step in driving an export-led growth for the South African avocados, which is a commitment the government has made under the Agriculture and Agro-processing Master Plan. In recent years, the avocado industry has expanded by 4 750 hectares increasing the total hectarage to over 18 000,” Didiza said.
China is likely to become one of the world’s major consumers of avocados and thus offering an immense opportunity to expand avocado production in South Africa.
South Africa’s avocado industry currently employs 15 000 people on farms and in pack houses. In addition, many others were employed in the service industries and along the value chain.
Didiza said the growth in exports would inevitably lead to growth in production.
“This will have a multiplication effect which will have growth in employment, skills and economic development in particular the rural areas of our country where the majority of avocados are produced.”
In the South African Avocado Industry Overview published by the SA Avocado Growers Association in May, Derek Donkin, the CEO at SUBTROP, said the avocado industry in South Africa has expanded steadily from the early 1970s to 2003, with plantings of ±2 000ha in 1970 increasing steadily until 2003. The expansion slowed from 2003 to 2008 with little growth taking place. However, since 2009, total plantings had increased due to a growing consumer demand for avocados. The 2023 avocado tree census was said to indicate that the area under commercial avocado orchards stood around 19 500ha with new plantings amounting to approximately 800ha per annum.
Eighty percent of avocado trees produced in South African nurseries were the dark-skinned “Hass” and Hass-type cultivars such as Carmen, Gem, Lamb-Hass and Maluma. The green-skinned cultivars such as Fuerte, Pinkerton, Ryan and Reed made up the remaining 20% of nursery tree production.
The estimated three-year average annual production was 139 400 tons of which 45% was exported fresh, mainly to Europe and the UK. The remainder of the crop was consumed domestically and approximately 10% was processed (oil and purée).
Although the South African industry was export-orientated, the South African market also plays a significant role with demand having grown considerably over the past few years, the association said.
In April this year, Alk Brand, the group chief executive officer of Westfalia Fruit Group, which operates in 15 countries across five continents and is the parent company of Westfalia Fruit, said the global avocado market was estimated at $7 billion by value of trade.
South Africa is a top exporter of avocados on the continent, shipping primarily to Europe, the Middle East and other southern African countries. It was forecast that South Africa would export about 18 million cartons of avocados this year, which represents an increase of nearly 2 million cartons, or almost 10%, on last year’s 16.3 million cartons. Domestic demand for the fruit has also increased in recent years with no indication of slowing down in the immediate future.
Adamou Labara, the IFC country manager for South Africa, has said that developing sustainable avocado markets could help boost agricultural productivity to reduce poverty, especially in rural areas where people mainly work in farming.
"The IFC – which is a member of the World Bank Group and is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets – is pleased, therefore, that its investment in Westfalia Fruit will help increase avocado production to meet growing demand, strengthen global value chains and boost economic growth in developing countries,” Labara said at the time.
BUSINESS REPORT