RSA Group Reflections December 2025
Dear friends
2025 marked my thirtieth anniversary working in the South African fresh produce industry. Somewhat incredibly, it’s only now, as we start to actually wind down, that I’ve had a chance to fully reflect on that moment when I first stepped onto the market floor all those years ago.
This December, the year draws to a close in a context that would barely have been imaginable at that time – a period when email was a novelty, cell phones were enormous bricks that few people used, and South Africa was only a year into democracy. From today’s perspective of trade wars and a Government of National Unity, smartphones and AI tools, 1995 truly seems like another world.
In 2026, I will begin to communicate some of our key insights on the state of the South African fresh produce industry today, grounded in our learnings as a business over the last four decades and my personal and professional experiences. But right now, at the end of a truly frenetic year, I would simply like to say thank you so much to everyone within our community for the passion, commitment and performance that are so obviously in evidence across our industry.
30 years after I first arrived at RSA Group, South African fresh produce stands as a powerful example of what can be achieved in this country. Our industry continues to grow, thrive, and stimulate an amazing range of socioeconomic development opportunities for businesses of all types and sizes. We have achieved this by sticking to our business principles, and thanks to our ability to generate value for all role players in an inherently fluid and ever-changing environment. In addition, and quite remarkably in a global agri context, it’s important to note that our open market system generates this sustained value for the country without any government subsidies. In summary: we continue to prove the power and social relevance of our business model by doing strong, high quality business, day after day.
With this in mind, I would like to wish you all a relaxed and peaceful festive season, spent in the company of friends and loved ones. I trust that you will be able to enjoy this rare opportunity to fully relax, recharge, and enjoy the fruits of another hard year’s work. Which are richly deserved!
Appreciation must also go to all those among us who will remain at work over the festive season. Thank you for ensuring that our country has all the access it needs to essential nutrition during this special time of year.
Please stay safe on the roads if you’re travelling, and I look forward to taking our work forward together, and even more successfully, in the new year.
Best wishes
Jaco Oosthuizen
