Growth and Development of the Fruit Value Chain in Tanzania and South Africa

The fruit value chain has high growth potential in export markets with opportunities forincreased participation of small farmers. Growth in global demand for fresh fruit and relatedprocessed fruit products presents opportunities for developing countries to participate in highvalue markets. However, realising such potential requires building supply chain andtechnological capabilities to access export markets. This includes in and bringing togetheraccess to quality fruit varietals, production technologies, standards with logistics andmarketing. This paper assesses opportunities for value chain upgrading and increased tradein the fruit value chain between South Africa and Tanzania. Tanzania produces substantialquantities of fruit but has limited capabilities to export with significant post-harvest losses.South Africa, on the other hand, is globally recognised as a leading exporter of fruit andprocessed fruit products with capabilities in production, standards and logistics. Key findingsshow that there are limited opportunities for trade in fresh or processed fruit products betweenthe two countries due to poor infrastructure in the region to support trade in fresh fruit.However, the best opportunities for value chain upgrading are in skills and technical advicebetween South Africa and Tanzania given the different levels of capabilities along the valuechain