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South African industry mourns the passing of Japie Groenewald

24 February 2010

Across the South African fruit industry people are today paying tribute to one of its most colourful members, Japie Groenewald, founder of the fruit packing and exporting concern, Betko Fresh Produce, who died yesterday after a motor vehicle accident near Elgin in the Cape region.

Japie Groenewald has been one of the leading entrepreneurs which have helped to transform the South African industry from the highly regulated single channel era to a free market system which has seen exports from the country double in a little more than 15 years.

This is the general view of people in the SA industry whom fruitnet.com spoke to following the death of the founder of the well-known Betko family owned operation.

“Japie Groenewald was one of the most modest members of the South African industry and has made an immeasurable contribution to the fruit growing community in the Villiersdorp region,” says Dawie Rossouw, well-known Capespan fruit specialist who has been involved with growers in the Elgin-Villiersdorp region for more than 30 years.

Mr Groenewald grew up on a small holding along the Sonderend River (‘River without End’) below the Riviersonderend Mountains in the Western Cape, where he later founded the two family farms, Oubos and Sunnyside. During the regulated era he started his own local fruit distribution business and when international markets opened up, he became one of the leading exporters.

The modern Betko cold storage and fruit packing complex at Villiersdorp was established and became the rallying point of many smaller producers who found it hard to survive on their own.

“The everlasting legacy of Japie Groenewald is the support he gave to the local fruit growing community and the way he supported smaller growers through difficult times,” says Mr Rossouw. This included the creation of work in the local community and the housing complexes he established for staff at Villiersdorp and on the farms.”

During the past ten years the Betko business expanded rapidly and Mr Groenewald in particular played a pioneering role in developing the African market Betko annually packs 50 000 tons of apples and pears. Of this volume 80% represents apples. The pack house and cold storage complex at Villiersdorp has 72 Controlled Atmosphere rooms with a total capacity of 98 000 bulk bins.

Mr Groenewald’s son, Roux, says the Groenewald family and the Villiersdorp community suffered a devastating loss. A memorial service will be held at Villiersdorp on Friday.

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