Ecstacy as Zim farmers secure European pineapple market

Published 2022년 1월 10일

Tridge summary

Sixty-five smallholder farmers in Zimbabwe, including Sarudzai Sithole from Chipinge, have obtained organic certification for their pineapples, enabling them to export to the Netherlands. This marks a significant achievement for the farmers, who have previously struggled with post-harvest losses due to limited local market demand and transportation challenges. The certification, obtained with support from ZimTrade, COLEACP, the Embassy of the Netherlands in Zimbabwe, PUM, and RVO International, is expected to fetch the farmers a 30% premium in European supermarkets, potentially doubling their earnings. This initiative is part of Zimbabwe's efforts to boost its horticulture exports, which have seen a decline since the land reform program of 2000 but still reach an average of US$18 million annually. The country is focusing on organic farming and building links with European food companies to improve export prospects.

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Original content

Source: Feature: Ecstacy as Zim farmers secure European pineapple market – NewsDay Zimbabwe IN her wildest dreams, Chipinge smallholder farmer Sarudzai Sithole never imagined that her pineapples could someday stock the produce section of Europe’s finest supermarkets. Now, the 34-year-old mother of five is part of a group of 45 farmers in Rusitu Valley in Chipinge, a district in the eastern province of Manicaland, who from December 2021 would be exporting nearly 50 tonnes of their pineapples to the Netherlands. “This is the best experience I have heard in the 14 years that I have been growing pineapples. I have been selling my pineapples locally to buyers from Mutare, Harare and Bulawayo during this period, but it has been for a small profit. “I will be selling two tonnes, and at the price of 70 cents that we have been promised, the exported crop will greatly improve my life and that of my family,” an excited Sithole tells IPS. She says pineapple farming has enabled her to build a ...

Source: Zimbabwesituation