Star South has been wholesaling fruit in South Africa since 2003, growing into a multinational distributor and on the road to developing an optimised global supply chain
On April 17, 1662 South Africa’s first apple, a Wijnappel, was picked in Cape Town. That year also marked the arrival of European settlers, the colonisers widely acknowledged as kickstarting the country’s fruit and wine industry.
Fast-forward through the centuries, and South Africa is the continent’s most prolific producer of apples, growing more than 900,000 tonnes in 2016. This production is concentrated in Ceres and Grabouw in the Western Cape and in the Langkloof in the Southern Cape thanks to near perfect growing conditions, conditions which enable high quality fruit with a solid shelf life.
One company that has established itself in the wholesaling and worldwide distribution of apples and many other fresh fruits is Star South, formed in 2003 and headquartered in Wellington.
Indeed, apples represent just one of Star South’s extensive product portfolios. South Africa is one of the leading producers of eating grapes in the whole of the southern hemisphere, with more than 18,000 hectares under cultivation producing world-class grapes for export during the period November to May. Star South sells and distributes dozens of varieties of white, red and black seeded and seedless grapes.
The Company also provisions a strong selection of citrus fruit, South Africa being renowned for growing bountiful amounts of oranges, lemons and grapefruit.
The country is further reputed for producing quality pomegranates, especially the fully red varieties. Star South’s flagship pomegranate, named Wonderful, is sourced and packed alongside four other red breeds and Acco, a pink variety.
Pears are another important segment of business, the firm supplying four different varieties to domestic, regional and international customers. In South Africa, two types (Packham’s Triumph and Bon Chretien) account for more than half of the entire cultivation of pears.
Africaoutlookmag.com mentions the final subcategory of fruit making up Star South’s portfolio as being stone fruit, chiefly peaches and nectarines. The Company is one of the country’s major suppliers with availability running from November through to April.