Horticultural market reaches record levels

MBONGENI MGUNI
Staff Writer | Friday March 12, 2010 00:00

 

The horticultural market was established two years ago to help farmers dispose of their produce at a central place and to facilitate the marketing of their horticultural produce and thus promote the industry. The market - which comprises a specialised facility with coldrooms, a market floor and bays - provides a platform for trade between farmers and buyers, both local and regional.

On Wednesday, the market's Chief Executive Officer, Abakeng Koswane, revealed that the market currently handles up to 653 tonnes worth P1.8 million per month, up from figures of approximately 414 tonnes and P1.2 million last year. Koswane said from 1 200 registered buyers last year, the market now had 3 869, the top ten of which are large and established wholesalers and retail chains.

The market's top ten buyers include Motopi Holdings (on behalf of the Choppies chain), Mr. Veg, Veggieland, the Shoprite Group, Trans Africa, Spar, Payless and Supaveg. The most consistent suppliers of produce include Goldigger Ventures, Hortulus, the Hurvitz Group, Lawrence Ngwepe and Oodi Investments.  Major suppliers range from areas such as the Tuli Block, Martin's Drift, Kasane, Mochudi, Oodi, Selebi-Phikwe, Sherwood and Lobatse.

Other suppliers are across the border in South Africa such as Westphalia who specialise in bananas, mangoes and oranges, taking advantage of the comparatively higher produce prices in Botswana.

Of the average 653 tonnes delivered monthly, 70 percent is from local farmers while the balance is made up of imports, mainly from South Africa. 'Compared to when we started, more people are aware of the market's existence and we have been able to penetrate the farming community,' said Koswane. 'We have suppliers from South Africa and we have also had speculators from there coming into the market.'  Speculators buy produce from one farmer/supplier/market in South Africa and take it across the border to Botswana, hoping to rake in a handsome profit at the Horticultural Market. 'The speculators look at the exchange rate and the commodity prices,' the CEO said. 'Their aim is to buy and sell at a profit. We have had three of them that have come through, dealing particularly in potatoes.'

Koswane said the seasonality of farming produce in Botswana was affecting the operations of the market. At present, the market is operating below capacity, with farmers expected to return starting from April. 'Most of the produce should start returning from July up to September,' Koswane said. 'That's when most of our farmers come back into season. Currently, we are depending on a few farmers and produce from South Africa.

'This is a commission-based market and for it to be fully operational, we should be handling larger volumes of fruits and vegetables at any given time. But we are still experiencing a problem in that regard. We are still moving low volumes, hence we are thinking about bringing the wholesalers into the market. That is still at suggestion phase however,' he said. If the 'suggestion' went through, wholesalers would operate from the market floor and purchase agricultural produce directly from producers. The move should foster the entry of more small farmers who usually demand cash payment for their produce.

The Botswana Horticultural Market is presently reviewing the P50 000 per day target set for agents, with a meeting scheduled soon on the revised targets. The market is also undertaking farmer education campaigns and continues to hold meetings with farmers and traders every quarter.

The Botswana Bureau of Standards (BOBS) conducts monthly assessments of the market, looking at issues of quality, labelling and packaging. Thus far, the market has been found to be above par.