RSA Group Reflections April 2025
Dear friends
You don’t win the Currie Cup in May, they used to say, a long time ago, when May marked the start of the South African rugby season. Nowadays, of course, there is no such thing as a rugby season in South Africa. Our teams play all year round, including in Europe during the height of our summer. Just a few years ago, the mere thought of our current set up would have seemed close to impossible.
How quickly things change! And not always in the ways we presume they will. We often base our predictions for the future on patterns we have already experienced in the past. But, as our rugby scene clearly shows, the future is its own country, and they do things differently there.
This idea has been on my mind lately, because the World Union of Wholesale Markets (WUWM) conference will kick off soon, in Johannesburg. Despite taking place in a time of profound, and often downright scary, global socio-economic disruption, it’s nonetheless an exciting event with an agenda that shows just how much potential and opportunity there is right now for our industry, locally and globally.
With an impressive line-up of African, South African and international thought leaders and speakers, the WUWM conference will address major issues facing the fresh produce industry. It will highlight the many technological advances we all need to think about. It will also, crucially, cast clear light on the power of the South African open market system and its relevance to global fresh produce trade, including its immense potential to drive increased industry activity across the African continent.
These are vital themes to understand in the current context of heightened global socio-economic uncertainty. Yes, international trade has been hugely impacted by the tariff wars, and big shifts are underway that will inevitably affect many role players across the global fresh produce value chain. There will undoubtedly be significant impacts in certain areas of the South African industry as well. But we need to be careful not to focus only on the possible negative impacts of the current environment, because in times of great change come great opportunities, as well.
RSA Group is certainly looking forward to hosting and interacting with local and international business partners and colleagues at WUWM; with a view to showcasing our business and the central role it plays in driving the South African fresh produce industry forward, and exploring new relationships and commercial opportunities in different parts of the continent, and the world.
I have a strong feeling that the WUWM conference will see delegates opening their eyes wider than ever before at the possibilities currently arising in our industry: in new export markets, through the application of exciting new technologies, and through the expansion of the open market system to new regions, including the opening of new markets in areas that hold a great deal of potential for sustainable long term trade with committed partners.
There are, obviously, a lot of issues for our local industry to address currently, but in this we are absolutely not alone. Most countries are facing a variety of strong crosswinds right now and will have to stay on top of their game to address them successfully. Nonetheless, there is also much to look forward to, and focus on, in the here and now. If we keep our minds and our hearts open, and stay flexible and responsive, we’ll put ourselves in a great position to maximise all the opportunities that inevitably arise in times of sweeping change.
Best wishes
Jaco Oosthuizen
