SA exports enjoy favour while locals discard rotten produce

The problem is illustrated by the fact that while traders recently experienced a serious shortage of tomatoes, producers like Talana Farms had to discard "loads and loads of rotten tomatoes" because of lack of buyers, Radovanovich says.

"Local traders prefer to buy from South Africa instead of supporting us here," he says. "We are trying to make our prices as attractive as possible, but the problem persists. In some instances, we supply supermarkets but they take a month or two to pay, and this also affects our business."