|
The Johannesburg Fresh Produce Market has plans for growing its presence in Limpopo Province, one of the country's most productive agricultural regions.  Marketing manager Thomas Mawasha WITH a growing market base and innovative changes in both infrastructure and operations being implemented, the Johannesburg Fresh Produce Market (JFPM) is fast transforming itself into a market leader, both locally and globally. Recently, the JFPM signed a memorandum of understanding with the Vhembe District Municipality, a move that will result in emerging farmers in the Limpopo local authority getting faster access to bigger markets like the JFPM. “Vhembe district is a key production hub of most fruit and vegetables in the country and there are a lot of emerging farmers from the area who do business with the JFPM,” says Thomas Mawasha, the marketing manager at the JFPM. He explains that the JFPM has set aside R8-million for the building of a fresh produce facility in Vhembe that will serve as a packing house and grading point for produce. During the signing of the memorandum, the chief executive of the market, Kgosientso Ramokgopa, said the JFPM would play a leading role in the designing and building of the Vhembe facility, “to ensure that the produce is handled under optimal conditions, in line with hygiene standards”. In terms of the agreement, the JFPM will assist and advise the Vhembe municipality in the management of non-conformities, marketing, quality control, provision of relevant staff training, transport logistics and compliance with the hygiene standards for cold chain. Once it is up and running, the Vhembe facility will offer various key services to emerging farmers in the area and will serve as an information sharing point for farmers to improve their agricultural and business skills. Through the JFPM, producers will also be in a position to learn more about commission market operation, including the market forces at play that affect the pricing of produce. A similar arrangement to establish a fresh produce facility is being planned with the Mopane District Municipality, also located in Limpopo Province, says Mawasha. International plans
Internationally, the JFPM is looking into expanding its market base to Namibia, where it is intending to strike deals with two city municipalities to establish fresh produce markets. “Our partnership with these cities will help local people obtain affordable produce from these markets. Currently, our understanding is that consumers in Namibia buy a bag of potatoes for R70, but here in South Africa one can get a similar product for R17. If the JFPM establishes fresh produce markets in these areas, prices will stabilise,” Mawasha explains. The JFPM will also encourage local emerging farmers in that country to invest in fresh produce farming as there is a lot of arable land that could be used to produce fruit and vegetables, he adds Joburg’s market currently has over 8 000 registered customers representing buyers from all over South Africa and southern Africa. It intends to improve this market coverage, especially across the Southern African Development Community, which has huge potential to buy large amounts of produce from the JFPM. “Lately, the JFPM also has been inundated with enquiries from countries such as Spain and Italy that want to source fresh produce from us.” Because of this expanding export component, the market is planning to implement new technological systems to improve its operations. Mawasha says a study is being conducted to establish a virtual market system. “This would be an additional channel to the existing one that we have. The market will use information technology to bring together buyers and sellers through electronic media to create a virtual market place. A buyer on the other side of the world will be able to purchase produce, with all the grading and prices, from the JFPM.” Premium Hall
It also has plans to establish a state-of-the-art storage and selling facility that will allow it to compete directly with private fresh produce distributors. Called the Premium Hall and to be housed in the current Vegetable Hall, this storage and selling facility will improve the market's infrastructure significantly. The Premium Hall will address quality of fresh produce through cold chain management. Essentially, the establishment of the Premium Hall - at a cost of R250-million - is intended to position the JFPM as a leading role player in the South African fresh produce industry.
Work on the revamping of the hall, which is need of serious refurbishment, will begin in May 2009. Related stories: |
