, Jacques Jordaan, fruit farmers have been left with many challenges which are likely to affect supply in the local canned fruit industry in the country.
“The uncertainty at this stage, for sure, is that there are only two canning factories specific for canning their fruit, and if you take half of two, you’ve got one, and there’s total oversupply, then you have problems. With such a wide variety of fruit and its abundance in the county, Jordaan believes that companies need to retain the international market so they don’t lose to other major canning countries such as Greece.
“No other county can compete with us. We’re spoilt mainly by good quality fruit, including canned fruit, and I think once you lose your market share internationally then that would become a problem,” Jordaan said.with Tiger Brands to procure the factory but required over R300 million to seal the deal in 60 days. No deal ever went through, and according to Jordaan, the factory is still on sale.