South Africa promotes again: This season will see the country's stonefruit exporters resume promotional activities in Europe for the first time in more than ten years

摘要

South Africa's peak season for stonefruit will this year be marked by the first sales promotion campaign in more than a decade. Set to be rolled out in the UK and Germany, it is hoped the campaign will soon be expanded to other fruits in order to restore the profile of South African fruit to the dominant position it occupied during the mid-1990s. Despite initial fears that stonefruit crops in the southern and western parts of South Africa would be later than last year, the 2008/09 export season has started without problem, with exports of all categories except apricots expected to see increased volumes compared with last year. Stefan Conradie, stonefruit product manager at the South African Stone Fruit Producers' Association (SASPA), says it is tooearly for final predictions about this year's volumes. "We are busy with estimates, but in general the prospects look good," he says.