South African dried fruit is 'unrivalled globally'
De Wet Burger of Kambrosig, a dried fruit producer based in Wellington, Western Cape, believes South African dried fruit is the best in the world.
South Africa also speicialises in producing dried fruit sweets – a uniquely South African delicacy which Burger says he's never seen anywhere else.
'When travelling abroad, I've never seen any dried fruit that I would consider buying,' Burger told FreshPlaza .
'Being accustomed to the standard of dried fruit we produce in South Africa, both in terms of eating quality and appearance, I believe it is unrivalled in the world.'
Kambrosig is a small-scale supplier that prides itself on freshness. The company never has more than a week's supply of packed and ready-to-send dried fruit and fruit sweets.
'We keep the product as fresh as possible before sending it out to clients,' Burger noted.
'We keep the dried fruit in our cold room and package it weekly. Of the dried fruit sweets, we make a fresh batch every week.'
Kambrosig's fruit comes from a dedicated group of stone and pome fruit farmers. Most is sun-dried for cost-efficiency, while apples and peeled peaches are dried in tunnels.
The dried fruit with the highest demand is dried prunes, while dried apricots are facing supply challenges.
Due to the drought in regions around Laingsburg, Ladysmith, and Montagu, many apricot orchards have been lost. Rising export demand and drying costs mean fewer farmers are choosing to dry their crops.
'We have just sold out our very last dried apricots,' Burger added. 'I was talking to one of our supplying apricot farmers, and he said he was only able to supply his clients with 20% to 30% of their fresh apricot orders.'
Peach and pear supplies on the other hand are more stable.
Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1.
Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
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