WHAT WAS SAID AT THE SHAFFE CONGRESS THIS WEEK ?

SHAFFE - the Southern Hemisphere Association of Fresh Fruit Exporters - is in many ways, a remarkable organisation, bringing together the fresh produce industries of Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, New Zealand, Peru, South Africa and Uruguay. Together, they account for around 11 million tonnes of fruit exports, worth some US$14 billion and which account for c. 25% of world trade.

SA, Chile, NZ and Peru are the key players in SHAFFE. They account for c. 75% of exports. Products such as grapes, apples, kiwi, blueberries and cherries account for around 60% of the SHAFFE exports. China, the US, the EU, Japan and Russia are all key export markets.

SHAFFE has, this week, held its first online congress, which bought together over 600 delegates from around the world, in 2 sessions, due the various time zones that the SHAFFE membership covers. What struck me, in particular, was how much these countries have in common, despite to some extent all being in competition with each other too. 

Among the challenges they all have to face up to over the next few years – as well as the opportunities they have to take advantage of, include the following:

• fruit consumption in many parts of the world is still below the recommended levels as set by the WHO
• there has been considerable disruption to international trade caused by the COVID pandemic and there is now a need for the redevelopment of dynamic and resilient trade infrastructure. The current situation in the Suez is one of many logistical constraints to overcome
• there is a need to meet the challenges of climate change and water scarcity and the development of a more holistic view of sustainability and what it means
• the adoption of so called “green tech” presents the opportunities for better crop yields, reduced wastage, reduced costs of production and better levels of efficiency
• there needs to be more collaboration between governmental/NGO organisations and the private sector in more agile, innovative and proactive partnerships to bring about what is referred to the “transformative change” required for the future
• there is a common issue with the availability and movement of seasonal labour
• China and other SE Asian markets are all of significant interest
• the better use of e-commerce and trends towards healthy eating - all accentuated by COVID - are seen as particular opportunities and key market drivers for the future
• there will be new plantings and the development of new varieties across the SHAFFE countries
• there is concern over the rising cost of agricultural inputs and the increase in domestic protectionism and “eat local” campaigns

The SHAFFE model is an interesting one. It seems that they have all bought in to the premise that “together is stronger”. It will be interesting to see how the new strategy announced at the recent congress will roll out and what lies ahead for this group of countries.

The feedback received suggests that despite the obvious challenges ahead, optimism in SHAFFE is high: 70% of respondents in a SHAFFE survey felt that 2021 would be a good export season and 80% thought that the future prospects over the next 5 years were similarly positive.

I am very keen personally on the principle of transferable lessons. It seems to me that many agri food sectors around the world could learn from the collaborative approach of SHAFFE taken to tackling common problems, such as knowledge sharing and tech transfer work, market access covering both tariff and non tariff barriers, the development of sustainable agricultural and horticultural production and global trade development.

The work that SHAFFE plans to carry out via its e-learning academy looks especially interesting, as does the [very] recently signed Memorandum of Understanding with the Chinese Chamber of Commerce for Imports & Exports of Agricultural and Foodstuffs. Both real signs of future intent. 

But as the newly elected President of SHAFFE, Charif Christian Carvajal also said: “SHAFFE, will only in the end, be as strong as its most proactive members”. Never a truer word spoken.

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John is a Divisional Director with Promar International, the consulting arm of Genus plc. He has worked on fresh produce and agri food supply chain assignments in over 60 countries around the world, including South Africa, Chile, Peru, Australia, NZ and Brazil.   He is also the current chair of the City Food Lecture held annually in London.