Page 22 - LandscapeSAIssue114

FEATURE

THE SOUTH AFRICAN

BLUEBERRY INDUSTRY

A symposium of the South African Plant Breeders
Association (SAPBA) was held recently in Stellenbosch.
It is a bi-annual event, giving all involved in the

plant breeding sector an opportunity to share ideas Elzette Schutte, operations manager at Berries ZA
and expand the science of plant breeding. The
presentation below was given by Elzette Schutte,

operations manager of Berries ZA.

About Elzette Schutte
Elzette obtained her BSc Agriculture degree
at Stellenbosch University and continued
her studies at Michigan State University,
where she obtained her MSc degree in
Horticulture. After 11 years in fruit exports,
she joined Berries South Africa in 2017 as
their operations manager.

Blueberry clipping Blueberry harvesting

Berries ZA was founded in 2011 with growth in the past decade were an 82% area (36%), the Netherlands (27%), and Germany
the following objectives: expansion and a 16% yield improvement. (20%). Smaller exports were to the following
• to ensure an economically viable and countries: Spain 4%, UAE 4%, Singapore
sustainable berry industry in South Africa; Top ten for 2021 3%, Malaysia 2%, Ireland 2%, Hong Kong1%,
• to establish uniform grading regulations China and Peru have made the largest Saudi Arabia 1%.
for berries produced in South Africa; contributions to growth recently;
• to liaise with other berry groups locally and In the USA, exports have improved but Other facts and figures
internationally, exchanging information of data suggests that local production is the In the Western Cape fruit export performance,
mutual benefit; same as last year; blueberries showed a 49% annual growth in
• to look at ways of promoting sales and In Chile, value chain challenges affected value between 2015 and 2020;
consumption of berries in the local and harvest and export; In terms of industry employment, both
export markets; In Spain, there was a good season with permanent and seasonal jobs increased
• to facilitate relevant research in the berry strong export growth; between 2008 and 2021. Permanent jobs
industry; Canada had a challenging season with reached 4000 and seasonal jobs 12 000;
• to liaise with the Department of Agriculture, flooding in British Columbia and pollination The projected outlook for production in
Land Reform and Rural Development, issues; 2031 is 80 106 tons;
other government departments and Mexico experienced decent growth and Berries ZA expects that by 2024, they will
industry stakeholders; and export performance; have created 26 000 jobs within the berry
• to collect and share relevant industry Morocco experienced strong growth; industry;
information. Poland had a good season based on export A sustainability drive across South Africa’s
volumes; blueberry farms addresses consumers’
In her presentation, Schutte said that the South Africa had a good season, but desire for fruit produced in a socially
world supply of blueberries has grown with many challenges in terms of price and and environmentally conscious manner.
significantly, with 2021 having a world pack-outs. Its blueberry exports during Berries ZA addresses this by running projects
output of 1.5 million tons. The main drivers of the past two years were highest to the UK on farms in collaboration with retailers

20 Landscape SA • Issue 114 2022