Limpopo Business 2017-18 edition

OVERVIEW
are marketed under Indigo Fruit
Farming, which is wholly owned
by ANB Investments. The packing
house in Burgersfort processes up
to 600 large crates of fruit a day
in season, with each crate containing
about 350kg of fruit – or
slightly more than 2 000 tons.
Citrus exports to the EU have
grown steadily. In volume, exports
to the EU in 2015 accounted for
40% of total citrus exports (30%
oranges, 66% mandarins, 24%
lemons), up from 36% in the
prior season.
A new entrant to the export
market is the GOGO Group, located
in the Loskop Valley, where
intensive citrus cultivation takes
place. Exports will be sent to the
United States of America through
parent company EKM Exports.
The Zebediela Citrus Estate
has been bought by the Bjatlhadi
community with the support of
the Limpopo Local Economic
Development Programme, and
the focus has shifted from bulk
supply to producing smaller,
consumer-friendly quantities.
Livestock
Government planning at provincial
level includes the promotion
of red and white meat “clusters”
along all the development corridors
identified in the province.
This includes the promotion of
hygienic practices, the establishment
of small-scale abattoirs
and assistance in marketing of
products.
The province has about onemillion
beef cattle, about 7.5%
of the national herd. A new
indigenous breed of cattle has been developed called the Pinz²yl, from
breeding Pinzgauer and Nguni stock. This is an initiative of the same
farming group that grows the ZZ2 tomato, with the name derived from
the famous European breed and the name of the farmer who started
it all, Mr Bertie van Zyl.
International demand for venison is in the region of 50 000 tons
per year and South Africa only supplies about 2 000 tons of it – a
clear opportunity for Limpopo entrepreneurs to grow their share of
the market.
ONLINE RESOURCES
Agro-Food Technology Station, Limpopo University:
www.ul.ac.za
ARC Institute for Tropical and Subtropical Crops:
www.arc.agric.co.za
Citrus Growers Association: www.cga.co.za
Deciduous Fruit Producers Trust: www.dfpt.co.za
Limpopo Department of Agriculture: www.lda.gov.za
National Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries:
www.daff.gov.za
South African Fruit Farms: www.safruitfarms.com
South African Macadamia Growers’ Association:
www.samac.org.za
South African Subtropical Growers’ Association:
www.subtrop.net
South African Sugar Association: www.org.za
45 LIMPOPO BUSINESS 2017/18