PH eyes export of tropical fruits to South Africa
THE Philippines is looking into the possibility of exporting tropical fruits to South Africa.
This, after Philippine Ambassador to South Africa Noralyn Jubaira Baja met with officials of Fruit South Africa (FSA).
The meeting was in line with its vigorous efforts to look at ways on how to increase the two-way trade between the Philippines and South Africa.
The organization was represented by its Chief Executive Officer, Fhumulani Ratshitanga, and Specialist Consultant for Market Development, Dr. Mono Mashaba.
During the meeting, FSA updated the Embassy on South Africa’s efforts to gain market access in the Philippines for its fresh fruits.
A milestone was reached when South Africa began exporting citrus to the Philippines in June 2021.
Negotiations for the market access for South African table grapes, apples and pears are ongoing.
FSA underscored that the South African fruit sector considers the Philippines as a priority market.
As such, FSA undertook annual visits to Manila for the past six years until 2019 and paid courtesy visits to the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI). With the support of the South African Embassy in Manila, it attended the Agri-Link Trade Show hosted by the Department of Agriculture from 2017 to 2019, during which it met with potential importers and a number of retail companies.
FSA will visit Manila in October 2022 to attend the Agri-Link Trade Show organized by the Department of Agriculture.
With both countries recognizing the importance of agricultural trade and food security, the Embassy and FSA agreed to cooperate and collaborate on matters of mutual interest.
As an umbrella body for the South African fruit industry, FSA serves as the sector’s collective platform in engaging with government, other public institutions and strategic stakeholders on policy, legislation and other important matters.
