Allan Majuru

THE rains are upon us, and this season usually witnesses abundant fruits, found in different varieties across the country.

As Zimbabwe has conducive climatic conditions that promote fruit production, all regions in the country will experience huge harvests of one fruit or another.

Although this is a period that most people look forward to, fruits such as mangoes, peaches, pineapples, and bananas are some of the common products that usually go to waste during peak season as supply far exceeds demand.

However, with the growing demand for dried fruits across the world, there is huge business potential for turning what would otherwise be a loss into export quality dried fruits.

For local enterprises that are looking to expand their export offerings, dried fruits provide quick wins at a relatively cheaper cost.

As fresh fruits are usually found in large quantities during the season and are difficult to store for longer periods of time, there is also room for local businesses to earn more throughout the year as dried fruits have a much longer shelf life.

Dried fruit, in general, refers to fruits in which most of the original water content has been removed through natural processes such as sun-drying or through use of specialised dehydrators or dryers.

For rural communities and small businesses that are considering tapping into growing demand, they should consider sun-drying as this is cheaper compared to use of specialised tools.

Further to earning foreign currency from exports, the dried fruit business has potential to contribute significantly towards improving livelihoods through creation of employment, community development and increased production for food security.

Increased production of export-quality dried fruits can also contribute towards attainment of targets set under the Horticulture Recovery and Growth Plan launched last year by President Mnangagwa.

One of the objectives of the Plan is to improve the contribution of value-added agro-products to the national economy to promote import substitution and foreign currency generation.

To achieve this, the Second Republic plans to provide incentives for value addition, provide training on appropriate value addition technologies and facilitate export of value-added products.

Thus, local businesses can leverage on Government’s current drive on value-addition to produce more dried fruits with ease.

Once production improves, local companies can leverage on export promotion services offered by ZimTrade, the national trade development and promotion organisation, to increase the visibility of Zimbabwe-produced dried fruits in regional and international markets.

Demand for dried

fruits growing

Over the past few years, the demand for dried fruits has gone up as more people are becoming health conscious and looking for products that are high in nutrients and low in calories.

In Europe, the market for dried tropical fruit is expected to grow by an average 66 percent in the coming years, according to the Netherlands Centre for Promotion of imports from development countries (CBI).

“This growth is likely to be driven by changes in the consumption patterns of European consumers, including rising demand for healthier snacking options and a decrease in the consumption of sweet snacks.”

Markets that will offer quick wins in Europe include the United Kingdom, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Italy.

Apart from these European markets, demand is also growing across the world as trends are currently dictating that for a longer life, organic foods with high nutritional values should be consumed.

As a result, dried fruits such as apricots, prunes, apples, peaches, pears, papaws (papayas), and tamarinds attract good value in the international food industry.

According to Trade Map, the global import value of the above-mentioned products has grown from US$656 million in 2001 to US$2,17 billion in 2019.

The top importers in 2019 were Germany (US$199 million), United States of America (192 million), United Kingdom (US$182 million), China (US$174 million), France (US$101 million), and Netherlands (US$76 million).

The figure is higher if one considers other products such as dried bananas, dates, figs, pineapples, avocados, guavas, mangoes, mangosteens, citrus fruit, and grapes.

Of the top importers in 2019, Zimbabwe already enjoys favourable trading conditions with some of them, which makes it easy for local start-ups to export duty free or quota free.

For example, local businesses can take advantage of the agreements signed such as the Zimbabwe–European Union (EU), and Zimbabwe–United Kingdom (UK) pacts, to export at favourable conditions, which makes locally produced dried fruits sell at competitive prices.

The basic approach used in these agreements for determining a qualifying product is that it must be wholly produced locally from local materials, or at least have been substantially transformed locally.

The Netherlands is currently the largest importer of Zimbabwean horticultural produce and local start-ups can utilise existing channels to introduce more dried fruits to the country.

Dried products usually have a longer shelf life and utilising sea freight to export dried fruits to international markets can help reduce cost and at the same time improve the competitiveness of these products.

Apart from these international markets, there are also opportunities to explore African markets, riding on the opening of markets by the African Continental Free Trade Area.

Africa’s import bill of dried fruits grew from US$29 million in 2011 to US$46 million in 2019.

Top importers in Africa in 2019 were Algeria, Egypt, South Africa, Morocco, and Namibia.

Due to proximity, South Africa and Namibia could offer easy markets for local producers who can take advantage of existing routes.

Some market requirements

As the market for dried fruits is growing, local businesses need to produce more and secure markets early enough before flooding from competitors.

The starting point is utilising seasonal fruits that grow in abundance, such as mangoes, peaches, pineapples, and apples.

While sourcing resources locally will be easy, potential exporters of dried fruits need to pay attention to food handling practices, packaging and labelling options. There are specific international standards that apply to how dried fruits are handled, packaged, labelled and transported.

For example, the EU demands that the general quality requirement for all dried fruits is that products should be of “sound, fair and marketable quality” and bear the full name of their country of origin, according to CBI.

The name of the product should also be declared, and the exporter should specify whether the product is naturally dried, or sugar is added.

A key selling proposition for dried fruits and nuts is the packaging.

Dried fruits and nuts can be marketed as snacks for on-the-go or in between meals and offering convenience packaging will a long way in improving the visibility of the product.

Producers need to ensure that the packaging is suitable for the product, in terms of the preservation and handling procedures. The quality of packaged dried foods can also be affected by storage conditions and the gases contained in the packaging.

Allan Majuru is the chief executive officer of ZimTrade.