Thailand has officially reopened its markets to South African grape export.
This follows the publication last Monday (January 18) of the export protocol in Bangkok and comes after an eight-year hiatus during which several key organisations in the public and private sector have been lobbying relentlessly to regain market access.
“This is good news for the South African table grape industry which has shown healthy production growth in new generation and market-driven varieties, and is a significant step towards diversification,” said Willem Bestbier, CEO of the South African Table Grape Industry (Sati).
“Currently more than 80% of SA table grapes are marketed in Europe and the United Kingdom. It is vital for the industry to develop other markets in order to avoid over-reliance on individual markets and sectors,” he said.
“The South East Asian markets have been identified for growth as the consumption of fruit is an important part of their culture and they have large economically active populations and growing economies.”
According to Bestbier the Thai market for South African table grapes was quite significant and growing steadily before its unexpected closure eight years ago
