Beanstalk Global & The PMA in South Africa – The Dragon Fruit Industry.

The Produce Marketing Association is a key international trade organisation representing companies from every segment of the global fresh produce and floral supply chain. The PMA helps members grow by providing connections that expand business opportunities and increase sales and consumption. Its mission is to connect, inform and deliver industry solutions to enhance its members’ prosperity.

Each month, we will be focusing on a major area of South African fresh produce and discussing that all with the country’s key industry experts so we can learn and appreciate fantastic South African Fresh Produce. This month it’s Dragon fruit!

Dragon fruit is a very large, mostly red-skinned scaly fruit produced by a fast-growing trailing cactus. Dragon Fruit Farming is a relatively young industry in South Africa, local dragon fruit farms show huge potential to deliver substantial amounts of fruit to northern hemisphere markets.

The South African dragon fruit industry is mainly based on the red-skinned varieties with the pink-fleshed fruit being the most popular. Dragon fruit prefers a warm subtropical climate, and is successfully grown in areas where avocados and macadamia nuts are cultivated, and is harvested from around December-January to April-May.

We will discuss this rapidly growing industry and its development across the Western Cape and up to Zambia.

On the panel we will be speaking to several leading experts on the South African Dragon Fruit Industry including:

Michael Muller.

Fred Steyn, newly appointed Chair of the Southern Africa Dragon Fruit Association.

CT van der Merwe, CEO of AL 3 Boerdery.

AL 3 BOERDERY is a farming company that is focused on the production of table potatoes, seed potatoes, onions, butternut squash, beef and deliciously sweet Dragon Fruit.

With farms located in two areas of Limpopo – Dendron & Waterpoort, in Mpumalanga & the Northern Cape, AL 3 strives to be the leader in the agricultural industry with cost-effective quality produce & motivated employees. Click HERE to view their website.

Laura Strever. Lauren grew up on Amorentia Estate and Nursery, which she now runs together with her dad, Howard, while nurturing her own small business, Lopo Botanicals.

Lauren’s love for plants and the influence of her plant-loving grandparents and parents, led her to study aromatherapy and the healing property of herbs.

Jason Sampson.  Jason is the Curator of the Manie van der Schijff Botanical Gardens, a division of the Plant and Soil Sciences Department at the University of Pretoria.

He became interested in dragon fruit while busy with a M.Sc degree in Horticulture and focussed on potential medicinal uses of the crop, as well as the more traditional horticultural pursuits. Realising there was a gap in research regarding this emerging crop in South Africa, Jason now serves as advisor to the board of the Dragon Fruit Growers’ Association of Southern Africa.

To see the Broadcast, just click on the link below. To listen to the Podcast just click the Podcast icon.

Filmed 23^rd September 2021.

To find out more about the PMA in Southern Africa, PLEASE CLICK THIS LINK.

If you would like to become a Partner Sponsor to promote your products or services with this unique International Broadcast series, please either email: info@beanstalk.global  or call +44 (0)1284 715055.