As new markets in Europe and Asia come into play, one of country’s leading apple exporters says ‘best is yet to come’ for the brand.
The South African industry’s commitment and investment in Pink Lady means it is becoming “synonymous” with the star apple brand, according to one of its leading exporters.
Tru-Cape Fruit Marketing, which handles around 20 per cent of South Africa’s Pink Lady export shipments, now contributes to a combined national export deal of around 5mn cartons that places it in top spot among Southern Hemisphere suppliers.
Approximately 2.1mn cartons heads to the UK each year, with a further 2mn cartons sent to the rest of Europe and to Africa.
The group’s procurement manager Calla du Toit is also chairman of Pink Lady SA. He believes South Africa is rapidly establishing itself as the leading and preferred source of Pink Lady apples from the Southern Hemisphere.
“I am quite positive about the future of Pink Lady and believe the best is yet to come for South African Pink Lady apples,” he comments.
Other markets in Europe, India, and Vietnam are said to be sourcing more South African Pink Lady too.
“We made good progress in developing new markets over the past five years,” Du Toit notes. “We are also optimistic that market access to Thailand, where our competitors sell high volumes of Pink Lady, is imminent.”
Red ahead
According to Tru-Cape, there is a lot of excitement in the country about new varieties including Lady in Red and Ruby Mathilda, which seem set to replace original Pink Lady stalwart Cripps Pink.
“I anticipate that Ruby Mathilda or Lady in Red will replace many Cripps Pink orchards,” says Du Toit. “There is a noticeable rise in tree orders, and producers are increasingly interested in varieties that can be sold under the Pink Lady brand.”
