Limpopo Business 2016-17 edition

OVERVIEW
the eastern Mopani District contribute
45% of the produce sold
at Johannesburg Fresh Produce
Market, Africa’s biggest market.
They are also major contributors
to the Johannesburg Fresh
Produce Market.
ZZ2 farms a collection of tomotoes,
onions, avocadoes, apples,
pears and cattle. It is the major
brand of Bertie van Zyl (Pty)
Ltd, and a world leader in tomato
production, producing 160 000
tons of tomatoes per year. The
company’s product range appears
under 12 different brand
names. ZZ2 owns large farms in
four areas of Limpopo Province:
Mooketsi, Politsi, Polokwane and
Musina; it also operates in the
Western and Eastern Cape. The
company provides employment
to 8 000 people.
Westfalia, part of the Hans
Merensky Group, is the world’s
largest avocado grower. It also
produces significant quantities
of mango, litchi, citrus and
macadamia and has three agriprocessing
plants in the province.
Avocado oil is produced
in Modjajiskloof near Tzaneen
on the farm Westfalia estate,
juice and guacamole (avocado
purée) is processed in Politsi, also
near Tzaneen, and mangoes are
dried and packed at the factory
in Hoedspruit. Westfalia is the
leading mango supplier in Africa.
In Limpopo, estate farms
include Westfalia (Tzaneen),
Macnoon (Modjadjiskloof),
Agrivet (Morebeng) and
Goedgelegen (Mooketsi
Valley). Organic avocadoes are
also farmed in KwaZulu-Natal
Province.
The Westfalia Nursery produces more than 100 000 avocado trees
every year. Westfalia Technological Services is the research division of
Westfalia Fruit , promoting development of new cultivars and superior
avocado rootstocks
Relatively new entries into commercial farming are former cooperatives,
and they have proved very successful. The two most active
in Limpopo are NTKLA (with its headquarters in Modimolle) and Afgri,
South Africa’s biggest agricultural company, which has its headquarters
in Centurion (Gauteng).
NTKLA is a shareholder in Venda Roller Mills in Thohoyandou and
operates 10 grain silos, 23 retail outlets, 28 flour depots and one coldstorage
facility.
Crops
The Levubu Valley in the north is particularly fertile with guavas and
macadamia nuts among the crops that thrive there.
Valley Farms is a successful enterprise that grows fruits such as mangoes
and guavas, and produces concentrates, purées and dried fruits.
Afgri’s soya plant at Mokopane (Nedan) has increased annual production
to 195 000 tons of soya beans and 60 000 tonnes of sunflower,
the result of a capital injection of R180-million in 2011.
Greenway Farms supplies about 45% of the fresh-market carrots
consumed in Southern Africa under the Rugani brand. A R6-million
carrot combine-harvester is the only one of its kind in South Africa.
The revival of the Tshivhase Tea Estate has not only given South
Africans a truly local tea, it has also boosted employment in Limpopo.
A number of brands have been developed, including Midi Gold which
is the premium blend of the estate. Like the other teas, it is processed
locally at the Mukumbani Tea Factory.
Letaba Citrus Processors is a part of the African Realty Trust, which
also owns two large farms: Letaba Estates and Richmond Estates.
The Rhodes Food Group has a canned vegetable facility near
Louis Trichardt.
Cotton is grown at Loskop, North and South Flats, Wiepe and
Dwaalboom/Thabazimbi. There are 2 855 hectares under irrigation
and a further 326 hectares of dry land operations. Limpopo provides
about 32% of the national harvest.
Citrus
Most of South Africa’s citrus and subtropical fruit comes from the
eastern part of Limpopo. Soft and time-sensitive fruits, like avocados,
are exported out of the Port of Cape Town and transported to that city
by truck. Citrus is taken to the ports of Durban or Maputo.
47 LIMPOPO BUSINESS 2016/17