Tiger Brands plans not to import small white beans to can Koo baked beans
For the first time in its history, Tiger Brands was forced to import small white beans to keep making its popular Koo baked beans last year.
The company predicted a 40% loss in last year's local crop due to poor quality. It imported 2,500 tonnes of small white beans from North America at 30% more than local cost.
This was revealed during a recent Tiger Brands heritage tour in Bronkhorstspruit.
However, the company celebrated a successful harvest from two local black women farmers who are part of a group of 14 contracted farmers helping the company end its reliance on imported beans.
'We were going to lose about 40% with the quality we were getting while harvesting last year during this time,' said Dumo Mfini, MD for culinary at Tiger Brands.
Mfini told TimesLIVE when he saw the local shortage coming he searched across the rest of Africa for an alternative.
'I went to Mozambique, Botswana, up to Ethiopia and Malawi. In Africa, no-one could meet the quality, except Ethiopia, but their size was too small and unsuitable for canning,' he said.
Tiger Brands ended up importing Canadian navy beans, also known as small white beans, from North America.
'It was expensive. We imported 2,500 tonnes. The last 500 tonnes will arrive in Durban [soon]. We don't anticipate importing next year, especially with the quality we are receiving from 14 local farmers. We plan to double volumes in future and create a buffer to avoid shortages,' says Mfini.
The bean shortage was worsened by climate change and crop switching. Mfini said sometimes farmers looked at which crop would give them the most profit. When the price of red sparkle beans went up by 50%, many farmers switched to those instead of growing the special small white beans needed by Koo.
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