The National Agricultural Marketing Council hosted a workshop on South Africa's fresh produce chain today in which economist Thabile Nkunjana provided an overview of recent broad trends in international trade and its impact on South African fresh produce. The fresh produce sector has been at the mercy of international turbulence and climate-related problems, made more complex by recent trade restrictions.
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"As of March 13, 2023, at least 22 countries have implemented 26 export bans on certain food, ten countries had implemented 14 export limitation measures, affecting specifically onions, potatoes, fruit, and other processed food," he noted.State of EU energy influences veg tradeAfrica remains the largest buyer of South Africa's vegetable exports, taking almost two-thirds (64%) of vegetables – dominated by onions and potatoes – in 2022.Asia and the Middle East accounted for 10% of South Africa's vegetable exports, while the share of the European Union is a significant 22%."The interesting thing is that from the European Union, because of high energy prices affecting greenhouse production and their vegetable supplies, we're seeing opportunities there, at least in the short-term, for South African fresh produce."Apart from onions, there is also a pull for South African pumpkins. Issues within the European processing sector means that the market could remain available, he remarked.The ...
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