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Collaboration brings big export deals for pineapples and mangos
Pineapples and Mangos Head to Europe
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Photo: USAID/Lisa Yarmoshuk
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Mangos await processing at a fresh cut fruit plant in South Africa.
“USAID’s help in resolving the intellectual property rights judgment and the information on pest risk analysis were invaluable in opening these new channels,” said the export manager of a South African fruit processing firm.
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There was a shortage of fruit. A leading retailer in the United Kingdom needed pineapples and mangos. They needed specific varieties of the fruits, and they had to be of a certain quality.
USAID was helping a fresh cut fruit processor in South Africa satisfy the retailer’s demands. But the processor needed fruit supplies from abroad. USAID’s Southern Africa trade hub turned to the West Africa trade hub to help satisfy the demand; there were a number of highly competitive suppliers in both Ghana and Senegal. These suppliers also worked with pest experts and plant quarantine authorities — an important criteria for fruits harvested for exports. But these new trade links could not be opened until South Africa’s agriculture authorities were satisfied that the fruits were pest-free and did not need to be quarantined, and that all intellectual property rights had been addressed.
USAID helped the fruit processor analyze the risk of pests, identifying a list of possible pests for both crops. With this information in hand, the producers could propose risk mitigation strategies that would comply with the agricultural authorities’ requirements. On the intellectual property front, USAID revealed a number of weaknesses in claims that the fruit varieties did not respect intellectual property laws, which satisfied the South African authorities.
The import permit was approved, and the first shipment of mangos was sent from Senegal. The pineapples were shipped from Ghana soon thereafter. The South African fruit processing firm was able to preserve its share in a rapidly expanding multi-million dollar export market for fresh cut fruit mixes in Europe.
The value of the pineapple exports alone is expected to total at least $800,000 annually, and the value of the mangos is expected to range between $200,000 and $365,000 per year. For the next three years — the duration of the contract — the pineapple producers in Ghana, the mango producers in Senegal, and the fresh cut fruit processor in South Africa can count on a sure source of revenue. And the UK retailer can be confident that its supply line is in good hands.
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