Eastern Cape
South Africa
Sector
Agriculture & Agri-processing
As various sectors continue to suffer globally, one initiative in the Eastern Cape is attempting to ensure the preservation of a key industry in the province.
The pineapple industry in the Eastern Cape has been suffering from a variety of factors including exposure to the exchange rate, cyclical pricing and high input costs.
The production facilities located in East London consistently made losses over a number of years, prompting many farmers to leave the industry, which subsequently led to a decline in production.
In order to ensure the future of the pineapple industry in the province, the fruit processing facilities in East London (Summerpride Foods and Collondale Canneries) will be relocated to Bathurst, where a purpose built, state-of-the-art agri-industrial processing facility is planned for the industry.
The initiative is being spearheaded by Ndlambe Natural Industrial Products (NNIP), in partnership with local pineapple farmers, and with the support from the provincial government.
Located in the Cacadu District Municipality, Bathurst is a depressed community with a high unemployment rate.
It is hoped that the relocation of the facilities to Bathurst will not only act to stop the disappearance of farmers’ jobs but also create additional job opportunities in the region, assisting it in meeting its target of halving unemployment by 2014.
The new facility in Bathurst, which is expected to be fully operational by 2011, is to be augmented with additional processing businesses, with the aim of utilising pineapple plant material as a feedstock amongst other products.
Value-added opportunities at the new pineapple plant
- Opportunities from the pineapple fruit:
- Phase 1 consisted of transforming Summerpride Foods and Collondale Canneries, a non-profitable canning and pineapple concentrate plant, into just a concentrate plant, which is now showing growing profit margins.
- Phase 2 focuses on the extract of dietary fibre from the fruit. A pilot project is due to be completed by the end of June and there has already been international interest from dealers/distributors to use the dietary fibre in pharmaceutical products
- Opportunities from the pineapple plant:
- Phase 1 is focused on reviewing the potential of bromelain, an enzyme found only in pineapples, from the plant stem of the pineapple. The initiative has already sparked interest from international dealers.
- Phase 2 saw the CSIR testing pineapple fibres, which have shown favourable use in textiles. A number of downstream activities can be established from this operation including weaving and designing. It is thought this one stream could create as many as 2,000 to 3,000 new jobs.
The pineapple production project is just one of the many initiatives being supported by the Cacadu District Municipality in its efforts to stimulate economic growth in the region, thereby creating additional job opportunities.
The Cacadu district has a number of agricultural investment opportunities currently available. For a summary of these visit the website.
For more information on the pineapple project and the
opportunities available, please contact the Pineapple Growers Association:
Name: Anthony Albers
Email: ant.nnip@pga.org.za
Tel: +27 46 625 0515
For more information on other agricultural opportunities in the Cacadu District Municipality please contact:
Name: Mickey Mama
Email: mmama@cacadu.co.za
Tel: +27 41 508 7339
