Fruit SA presented its strategic framework for the SA fruit industry to the minister of agriculture and land affairs Lulama Xingwana and the deputy minister of trade and industry Elizabeth Thabethe at a recent media session in Pretoria.
The Fruit Industry Plan (FIP) is based on the framework of the Sector for Agriculture and is the result of a comprehensive process which started in 2004. three key aspects of the plan are to ensure equal access and participation of all South Africans; to improve global competitiveness and profitability; and to ensure sustainable resource management. According to Anton Rabe of the Fruit Producers’ Trust, there are many opportunities for the fruit industry, as SA produce is of a high quality and is sought after in established markets.
He said SA has ample land, capital and labour available, while there are still markets that SA companies have not yet exploited. It is hoped the FIP will use these opportunities to expand the fruit industry. Minister Xingwana said she was pleased with the plan, but said that the real challenge lay in implementing the plan. “The plan will be of no use to anyone if it were to be watered down in its implementation. will be a travesty if we demean it by implementing it selectively,” she said. She added that when implementing the plan, stakeholders should take cognisance of government’s ongoing trade negotiations to facilitate a reduction in trade and production distorting domestic support.
A multi-disciplinary task team under the leadership of Prof Andre Jooste of the National Agricultural Marketing Council was involved in drawing up the plan. Proceedings were guided by a Fruit SA steering committee which was made up of representatives from government, the commercial and emerging business sectors, and labour. The process was financed by members of Fruit SA as well as by organisations within the Departments of Trade and Industry and Agriculture. – Gwenda van Zyl
