New Robertson fruit handling depot

A new fruit handling depot in the Robertson area of the Western Cape was opened by Constitution Road Wine Growers (CRWG) recently.

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The depot was funded by the Rhodes Food Group and the agriculture department.

CRWG is 66% owned by 183 female farm workers. In 2008 the Rhodes Food Group identified CRWG as an empowerment opportunity and funded the establishment of 11ha of apricot and 9,5ha of peach orchards on Klipdrift Farm, owned by CRWG, where the new depot was built.

The depot was funded with a R1,5 million interest-free loan from the Rhodes Food Group, backed by a mutually beneficial repayment agreement, and has already processed approximately 13 000t of apricots, peaches, pears, sultana grapes and figs from 38 producers.

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The Rhodes Food Group purchases the annual apricot harvest grown by CRWG. The apricots are used in the range of Rhodes Apricot products that include superfine apricot jam, chunky apricot jam and apricot halves.