Twenty-four directors from French specialist agricultural bank Le Crédit Agricole du Languedoc recently visited stone fruit producer Indigo Berries, in Wellington, in the Western Cape, as part of a learning and exchange mission focused on agriculture, agribusiness financing and farm sustainability.

The mission also has a particular emphasis on understanding cost structures, labour models and production efficiencies in export-oriented farming systems, says export promotion organisation Exporters Western Cape (EWC), which hosted the delegation.

The visit was aimed at gaining a better understanding of how South African producers manage pressures while remaining globally competitive.

The Indigo Berries farm outside Wellington is a 62 ha operation employing about 300 permanent staff, and which expands to about 1 300 workers during peak harvesting season.

In France, most farms are family-owned and significantly smaller, with 5 ha considered a large operation, the EWC notes.

Further, the delegation’s response was overwhelmingly positive, with robust engagement and detailed discussions aimed at helping French agricultural financiers better understand how capital can be effectively deployed in modern farming systems, says EWC chairperson Terry Gale.

South Africa has established itself as a reputable berry exporter, with annual volumes exceeding 23 000 t. Although this is comparable to only approximately one week of exports from Peru, it reflects South Africa’s deliberate strategic focus on quality rather than volume.

“As a relatively young industry, South Africa benefits from access to the latest berry genetics, carefully matched to growing regions across the Western Cape, Limpopo and Mpumalanga and supported by well-established export supply chains via both air and sea,” he says.

Berry production in South Africa had expanded rapidly on earlier years and is now growing organically at around 5% a year, with the industry having built a strong reputation over the past five years for producing high-quality fruit for international markets.

“This visit was a strong endorsement of South Africa’s agricultural capability, and reinforced the message that the Western Cape is open for business, innovative and globally competitive,” he says.