BETKO NEWS

BETKO FRESH PRODUCE OFFERS THE HIGHEST QUALITY FRUIT

Betko in the final stretch of the 2011 season

31 October 2011

Betko Fresh Produce is nearing the end of the 2011 season having seen a 16% increase in volume compared with last season.

Betko Fresh Produce says better fruit quality, size specification and colour has been the future of its 2011 season, with the volume of fruit across the board rising by 16% compared with the previous season. The company has also managed to increase its supplier base.

However, there are still significant volumes of fruit to be marketed during the rest of the season which is due to end in mid December. “We have the option of carrying over one or more CA rooms for the start of 2012 and therefore marketing during the first four weeks of the New Year, depending on market situation,” says Roux Groenewald.

He says the European Union, United Kingdom and Russian markets have been under pressure this year due to reduced consumer spending. “But we have seen growth in Asia and Africa, as well as in the domestic South African market,” he says.

According to him the South African currency continued to be overvalued for most of the season, which continued to affect income. The recent decline in the value of the South African Rand has brought about a significant improvement.

“Internally there has been a new focus on fruit quality and packing flexibility. We are focusing on being able to pack exactly what and when customers require, even in small volumes.”

He says Betko has increased the number of external brands with long-term, larger customers and this augers well for the future.

“Unless we have extreme weather conditions such as hail or heat waves we are looking forward to a good volume and quality crop for the 2012 picking season. We had more than enough cold units early in 2011winter which will contribute to fruit set, even ripening and good quality.”

Mr Groenewald says Betko will source more fruit from the Ceres region in 2012, and will also benefit from the first crop from its newly planted farm Soetmelksvlei in the Riviersonderend Valley.

“We finished planting of the last 13 hectares on Soetmelksvlei this year and we expect to harvest the first 750 tons of fruit in 2012. During the next 6 to 8 years Soetmelksvlei should contribute an additional 12,000 tonnes to Betko’s volumes.”

He says 17 hectares of older orchards have been replaced on another of the Japie Groenewald Trust farms, called Sunnyside, which now features new plantings of Golden Delicious, Granny Smith and Fuji apples and Forelle pears.

“We expect that the EU, UK and Russia will remain under pressure next season, mainly due to the economic climate, the high volume of the European crop as well as increased capabilities for long term storage in Europe and increased use of newer technology such as SmartFresh.”

Hopefully we will see more growth in emerging markets in Eastern and Southern Asia, as well as in West and East Africa.

He says Betko will explore new opportunities to maximize its business, which includes the introduction of a new premium house-brand.
 

News Archive