After recently separating its activities from the deciduous fruit industry body to create a new producer organization in South Africa, the country's berry industry has joined the umbrella body Fruit South Africa.

The change comes towards the end of the South African berry season. Berries ZA said it had another excellent season, with a further 20 percent increase in production as 2020 came to a close.

Blueberry exports, the largest part of South Africa's berry industry, reached 14.063 tonnes at the end of week 49. This compares with 11.703 tonnes in the same period last year.

Fruit SA president Justin Chadwick welcomed the Berries ZA movement. “This week, Berries ZA, the newly formed organization representing the berry industry, joined Fruit South Africa. This is a positive development as Fruit South Africa has the ambition to represent as many fruit industries as possible.”

The other members of Fruit SA are the CGA, representing citrus, SATI, (table grapes), Hortgro (fruit and stone fruits), Subtrop (avocados, lychees and mangoes) and the Fresh Produce Exporters' Forum.

By all accounts, Berries ZA has gone live since its inception earlier this year. The association said it had been a challenging year for the young industry body, but that it has now joined several other bodies that will benefit the industry.

It has also started a Berry Joint Marketing Forum, a move that is seen as important to better coordination of exports and marketing.

Over the next ten years, South Africa is expected to see a sharp increase in exports of soft fruits, particularly blueberries.

While in the past the Western Cape was the main berry producing region, blueberry production is growing throughout the country.

Fruit growers that in the past focused on certain product categories are now expanding to others as well, especially blueberries, to offer their customers a broader range of products.