A state of flux

摘要

The deregulation of South Africa's principal deciduous and citrus fruit marketing and producer boards more than 10 years ago has led to unprecedented change in the industry. Arguably, no one company has been more affected than Capespan, which has had to survive in an increasingly competitive environment and in a market characterised by technological changes and freight contracting procedures. Deon Joubert, general manager operations, explained; 'We used to market and export only deciduous fruit and just about 100% of it. Our main clients were the growers/producers, and practically all cargo was moved on pallets in our own specialised ships and stockpiled in cold stores at destination ports, such as Sheerness (UK) and Bremerhaven (Germany), where we had strategic investments in the facilities. From here, the fruit would be repackaged and then distributed to the buyers.