After more than a decade, the first batch of South African apples will arrive in Bangkok, Thailand, in March.

Last week, Core Fruit packed the first container of Joya-branded apples alongside the country's agriculture minister, John Steenhuisen, who celebrated the new access agreement between both nations last year.

The agreement creates new opportunities for South African companies looking to expand into international markets, particularly in the apple and pear industry, which Steenhuisen noted plays a crucial role in rural communities.

"This is part of our initiatives to deepen and widen existing trade agreements, but also to start looking for new markets to diversify our markets for South African goods," the minister said. 

Regarding the impact of this milestone, he added that every hectare of apple production creates 1.25 jobs in South Africa because it is very labor intensive, along with packhouses and the foreign revenue that the country will bring in. 

He said this trade agreement is worth millions of dollars in revenue for the country. "Initially, we are hoping to get over 500,000 cartons out in the initial phase," Steenhuisen indicated. 

Emphasis on market diversity

Steenhuisen referred to recent "choppy waters that have arisen out of the American market, where we traded around 3 billion dollars in 2023, so it is a crucial market for us."

Since agricultural products make up a significant portion of that trade, he stressed the importance of retaining access to the U.S. market while also diversifying South Africa’s export destinations.

He added that he is "deeply concerned for agriculture because America is one of our largest markets, and the people who will suffer from any particular tariffs will be farmers, growers, manufacturers, and factory workers."

Thailand campaign

The commercial manager of Core Fruit for Thailand, JJ van der Spuy, said that around 70% of shipments to Thailand would be Gala types. He also expects Pink Lady to play a major part in the campaign.

“Gaining access to Thailand allows us to strengthen our presence in the region further, expanding our footprint and reaffirming our reputation for delivering top-quality South African apples,” he said.

The Far East and Asia account for approximately 35% of South African apple exports.

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