OVERVIEWSECTOR
OVERVIEWSECTOR INSIGHTThe MpumalangaInternational Fresh ProduceMarket will have an impact.AgricultureBees and nuts thrive among trees.Mpumalanga has diverse terrain and consequently boastsa diverse bouquet of agricultural products – from thecereals and legumes of the Highveld Region in the westto the nuts and fruits of the subtropical area, the provincecan grow just about anything. Animals are reared productively, andsugar is widely grown in the east.Anyone driving through the province or flying over it cannot failto notice the large forests and plantations but it would be wrongto assume that these areas are given over to a kind of monoculture.Forestry South Africa (FSA) reports that a number of initiativesare underway throughout the province (and other parts of thecountry) to promote different kinds of agriculture and support smallbusinesses and co-operatives.One example is the Mambiteni Bee Keeping Co-operative,pictured, on the Bergvliet plantation between Sabie and Hazyview.SAFCOL has supported the community in setting up the co-operativeso that it generates income sustainably. SMME programmes run byforestry companies use targetedtraining, mentorship andfinancial support to encourageentrepreneurship and initiativesthat are food related or involveactivities related to the company’ssupply chain.Merensky Timber has beenencouraging local peopleto grow groundnuts on itsplantations for decades.The company has allocatedextensive areas for more than1 682 community beneficiariesto grow groundnuts amongtheir planted trees. On theInternational Day of Forests on21 March 2025, FSA reported that“after four months of hard workin a year, each beneficiaryharvested between 50kg and80kg of nuts for personalconsumption and to sell ininformal markets”. The industrybody added that companies suchas Sappi, SAFCOL, MTO and Mondihave similar programmes thatinclude business skills training forbeneficiaries, helping them gainaccess to formal markets like thepeanut butter industry.A new avenue for small-scalefarmers will soon open in the formof the Mpumalanga InternationalFresh Produce Market (MIFPM).Very large in scale, the MIFPMis also intended as a vehicle forsmall producers. The provincialgovernment intends supportingthe creation of four small agribusinessesper municipal ward,MPUMALANGA BUSINESS 2025/2638PHOTO: Forestry South Africa
OVERVIEWof which there are 400 in the province. These SMMEs will be giventrading access to the market to ensure that they have an outlet fortheir produce. To enhance the productivity of SMMEs, training in newand indigenous technologies will be conducted.With more than 1.5 tons of steel and a design that encompasses17 buildings, the MIFPM built for the Mpumalanga EconomicGrowth Agency (MEGA) will make a big impact on the agriculturalsector in the province. The facility was handed over to the ProvincialGovernment of Mpumalanga at the end of 2024 and it is expectedto open in the first half of 2025.Enza Construction, a wholly owned subsidiary of Crowie Holdings,was the main contractor on the project, and Orbic Architects designedthe market.The IFPM is in Mbombela, less than 10km from the CentralBusiness District. It is situated within the Maputo DevelopmentCorridor (MDC), linking Mpumalanga, Gauteng Province and theNkomazi Special Economic Zone with the deepwater Port of Maputoin Mozambique.Agri-hubs throughout the province, led by co-operatives, willbe encouraged to supply produce to the IFPM which will givethem direct access to new markets and opportunities. In thisway, small-scale growers will be better incorporated into themainstream economy.In the Sustainable Agriculture briefing of the newly formedMpumalanga Green Cluster Agency, investment opportunities in fivebroad categories are identified:• renewable energy applications• regenerative agriculture• controlled environment agriculture• smart farming• agri-waste managementAgricultural produceMpumalanga cultivates predominantly tropical and subtropical cropsand vegetables such as avocados, bananas, citrus, ginger, granadillas,guavas, litchis, macadamia nuts, mangoes, papayas and pineapples.The South African macadamia industry produced 83 556 tons in2023, a better crop result than 2022 and much better than the 53 000tons achieved in 2021. Fully 97% of the crop is exported. Thousandsof new trees are being planted every year. In 2022, MpumalangaONLINE RESOURCESCitrus Growers Association: www.cga.co.zaMacadamias South Africa: www.samac.org.zaSouth African Subtropical Growers’ Association: www.subtrop.co.zawas responsible for 37% of thecountry’s 6 235 new hectares.There are more than 65 000hectares planted to macadamiasin the country. Sophisticatedmachinery is increasingly beingused and data usage is becomingvital for sustainability.Avocados are not aswidespread, but the plantingof 800 new hectares annuallysuggests that global marketsare responding well to farms inMpumalanga and elsewhere.The website of the South AfricanAvocado Growers Associationlists 25 companies that exportthe fruit.Mpumalanga accounts forabout 21% of South Africa’s citrusproduction and a third of itsexport volumes, with Valenciasbeing the province’s most popularvarietal and Nelspruit beingthe centre of the sector. Litchis,mangoes and bananas also thrivein the province. Hazyview is animportant source of bananas, with20% of South Africa’s productionoriginating there.An indication of the suitabilityof the province for a variety ofcattle breeds can be gleanedfrom the fact that Ntaba NyoniCattle runs studs for five breeds,Ankole, Boran, Bonsmara, Nguniand Wagyu. The 5 100ha farm,located near Badplaas, is ownedby current South African PresidentCyril Ramaphosa.One of the country’s biggestbeef producers and traders,Karan Beef, runs an abattoir inBalfour and in the neighbouringGauteng province, the company’sHeidelberg farm feedlot is, at2 330ha, the largest in the world. ■39MPUMALANGA BUSINESS 2025/26
