Market Access - South African Table Grape Industry

The Market Access function represents one of SATI’s core activities.

This function has three components:

Maintenance and improvement of existing market access.
Achieving access to new markets on a specifically targeted basis.
Re-open closed markets.

Market Access requires continuous attention to the demands and expectations of global markets and industry stakeholders. It also requires close cooperation with both foreign and local government agencies, as maintaining and increasing South Africa’s share of global fruit markets is essential to South Africa’s long-term economic growth and to improving rural livelihoods.

Dispensations

Please note that the majority of varietal dispensations for patented varieties are directly arranged by the PBRs with the Department of Agriculture (DOA). Most PBRs communicate the dispensations to the contracted growers directly. SATI therefore does not have insight into all arrangements between PBRs and the DOA.

Producers, exporters or PBRs of table grapes may apply for a dispensation to deviate from the prescribed minimum standards and requirements for export of table grapes from South Africa. The prescribed request form must be used for this purpose and must contain all the necessary details of the applicant, as well as a scientifically or technically justifiable motivation for the deviation, for the DOA to evaluate the request.

The DOA may, at its discretion, request SATI to provide industry inputs on such requests to support the DOA in its decision-making process. The DOA is, however, solely responsible for the final decision on any request.