The AAI Group's head office is based in the UK with offices in South Africa, China, and Europe as well as 150 brand affiliates around the world. The South African branch specialises in perishables, shipping mainly from Cape Town to West Africa and the Middle East, as well as Europe, the UK, and the Far East. The main products are vegetables, grapes, stone fruit, and of course, citrus.
"We are in the clearing and forwarding business, we are what you call the "middle-man" between the exporter and importer. "I like to call it a make-a-plan industry," said Peta Barnes, Branch Manager at AAI South Africa. "We move goods from point A to point B, calling on contacts to make the impossible happen. This can be stressful, exciting, and rewarding, especially during citrus season as the volumes exported significantly increase. The first lemons will be loading soon and it will all begin again."
Peta has always been involved in the industry and said it is very specialised and can be demanding at times, with very little sleep during the citrus season.
"There is a great deal involved from the farmers to governing bodies to export regulations, red tape, and the list goes on. For the EU market citrus farms have to be approved, spray records monitored and every year there are new regulations to understand and adhere to. Europe is probably the most challenging market, but China is also difficult. It can be difficult to get produce into China, it is what we call a Special Market. The Chinese officials come to South Africa on a regular basis and the farmers need to ensure compliance. The farmers play a big role in this, and know in advance what is expected."
The whole chain from farm to packhouse to shipping company is involved, it is a big network comprised of many different people.
"I am very proud to know our fruit can be found on supermarket shelves around the world, this is what motivates us during demanding seasons, knowing we are part of getting the product from farm to fork."
A lot has changed over the years, especially since Covid. "So much is done electronically now, whereas before it was individuals submitting hard copies. Now all we have to do is log in, submit, and obtain releases. Very little is done manually. We know where the produce is, we can track the container and the vessel from the harbor, and we have access to the temperature control loggers and get alerts if anything happens. The PPECB has also made massive changes with their Titan system, farmers scan pallet barcodes into the system which we have access to."
Cape Town port has had its share of troubles in the past, there is a lot of speculation and debate concerning port operations and we are ever hopeful that things will start improving this year. We still can't control the weather though.
"We are emerging out of the windy season, there have been wind events that have caused delays but hopefully this will improve now with the change of season. The coming citrus season is looking very positive with increased volumes and here at AAI SA we are already gearing up for it. We are getting our procedures and processes up to standard and are prepared for the volumes which can triple over the citrus season in comparison to the other fruit seasons."
For more information:
Peta Barnes
AAI South Africa
Tel: +27 (0) 21 493 3742
peta.barnes@aaisa.co.za
quotes@aaisa.co.za
www.aaisa.co.za