‘Co-opetition’ builds avocado market

RAY SMUTS
CO-OPETITION IS the new buzz word in the fruit marketing lexicon. Co-operating while still remaining competitive has worked to the benefit of the South African avocado industry where countries have worked together for the benefit of all. The industry teamed with other producing countries like Israel, Kenya, Mexico and Spain to jointly launch generic campaigns into European markets. “All put money into the pot to grow the size of the market so even though they retain the same percentage of the market, their volumes and values increase each year because they have grown the size of the cake over nine years,” says Fresh Produce Exporters’ Forum CEO Stuart Symington. He adds that a lot of South African exporters have been employing the same principle for a number of years, to the benefit of the fruit industry.