(Association incorporated under Section 21) 258 MAIN STREET, PO BOX 163, PAARL, 7620 HOOFSTRAAT 258, POSBUS 163, PAARL, 7620 Tel: 021-870 2900 Fax: 021-870 2915 E-mail: capeflorasa@hortgro.co.za Internet: www.capeflorasa.co.za REG NO: 2005/019041/08 Dear Member / Geagte Lid 4 July 2016 Herewith an update of industry matters for your attention and information / Hiermee inligting in verband met die nuutste industrie verwikkelinge 1. IFTEX 2016 Report back The fifth edition of IFTEX (International Flower Trade Expo) that was held from 8-10 June 2016 in Nairobi, Kenya, concluded as one of the best editions in its five years of existence. More than 200 exhibiting companies, over 3 500 trade visitors from over 50 countries on a total floor space of 10 000 m 2, reaffirmed the great importance of this annual international flower trade exhibition. The exhibition was dominated by roses, mostly from Kenya, but our unique South African flowers drew lots of attention. The florists did a fantastic job with our eight arrangements and many people spent at least 20 min at our stand to look at all the different varieties that were on display. Contact was made with about 50 different companies, some of whom already trade with South Africa and some who would like to start trading with us. The list of contacts can be obtained from the Cape Flora SA office. DIRECTORS: L HOFFMAN (CHAIRPERSON) T BASSON S CHENNELLS J GERBER N HALL M KNIGHT A RABE L RICHARDSON J STEENKAMP P VERMAAK J WALSH
The next exhibition to be attended will be IFTF in Holland from 2-4 Nov 2016. Please feel free to contact the Cape Flora office should you wish to send some marketing material with to Holland. The material should reach us not later than 28 Oct. 2. Field guide for Wild Flower Harvesting published It was with great excitement that the partnership between Flower Valley Conservation Trust, Newcastle University and Durham University in the United Kingdom announced the release of the Field Guide for Wild Flower Harvesting on 20 May 2016. The guide describes 41 of the most popular types of fynbos plants, and lists their characteristics, geographical range, and conservation status. The species are colour-coded according to their conservation status, as per the Red Data List. Also included are details on their Vulnerability Index scores, an index developed under the Sustainable Harvesting Programme. The Vulnerability Index provides a guideline as to the impact, or lack thereof, of harvesting on fynbos populations over the long-term. What is interesting about the guide is that it is available in 3 languages, Afrikaans, English and isixhosa and in 2 formats, a small pocket guide and a detailed A4 book version. The field guide is available online at http://www.flowervalley.org.za/fynbos-field-guide/ Information about how to obtain printed copies is available by email: fynbos@flowervalley.org.za 3. Feedback on the Annual General Meeting The Annual General Meeting was held at The Verde Hotel close to Cape Town International Airport, on 14 June 2016 and a record number of 60 members attended. The meeting kicked off with a couple of presentations by invited experts. Prof Stephanie Midgley presented information on climate change risks and opportunities for indigenous horticultural products as part of the
SmartAgri Plan developed by Western Cape Department of Agriculture. Prof Linus Opara s presentation was titled Thinking outside the box and looking inside a multi-parameter multi scale approach to improve the design and performance of ventilated packaging for handling fresh produce and gave the audience insight into the development of packaging and the science involved therein. Ms Louise Wessels from the Greater Overberg Fire Protection Association gave details on their fire management strategy and shared some of her good and bad experiences. Last but not least, Heather D Alton from Flower Valley Conservation Trust introduced the audience to the brand new Field Guide to Wild Flower Harvesting which was released on the 20 th of May and which is now available online. Prof Linus Opara (middle) in conversation with Dr Lynn Hoffman (right) and Tarl Berry (left), a PhD student of Prof Opara, at the recent AGM. Dr Lynn Hoffman presented her chairperson s report and the following were topics she discussed: Dried flower exporters: current orders look good, but the drought is taking its toll on the harvest. Innovative ideas are needed for marketing. Veld harvesting: Accredited training for veld harvesters took place at the end of last year. JMF: a meeting was held in Feb and market related topics discussed. Finances: Karien Bezuidenhout was appointed as manager. The renewal of the levy was approved by the NAMC and published on 29 Apr 2016. Sustainable harvesting and ethical trade: With funds from the EU and WWF Nedbank Green Trust, good progress is being made on the Sustainable Harvesting Programme (SHP).
Research & Development: The three Postharvest Innovation Fund projects are currently being conducted. Another two projects are supported by the Alternative Crop Fund from the Western Cape, Department of Agriculture. Two additional projects have been approved in 2016 to be funded from this fund. Table Mountain Fund project supported by the WWF fund was awarded to a research team of Flower Valley Conservation Trust and is underway. Transformation & Training: Funds was received (R200 000) from AgriSETA for the training and skill development of staff. Training sessions were held by Philani Training and Development Solutions in Bredasdorp, Suid Kaap (Heroldsbaai), Tsitsikama, Gansbaai (Grootbos) and Piketberg. Communication: This is facilitated by the website and newsletters. Three newsletters were sent out. The website is currently informative but not interactive. SAFEC: The South African Flower Export Council (SAFEC), of whom Cape Flora SA is a member, partners with Department Trade and Industry each year, to attend international flower trade fairs. This year SAFEC have attended and still plans to attend the following fairs: Goyang International Flower Exhibition, Korea (15-29 May); International Flower Trade Exhibition, Kenya (8-10 Jun); International Flower Trade Fair, Holland (2-4 Nov) IPA: The XII International Protea Research Symposium and the XVII International Protea Association Conference was held in conjunction with the VIII International Symposium on New Ornamental Crops from 20-24 August 2015, in Scarborough, Perth, Western Australia. South Africa bid to host the next IPA conference and International Protea Research Symposium during the first week of September 2017 in Stellenbosch, as part of the ISHS 2nd International Ornamental Symposium and the Management of Quality in Chain Working Group. The complete chairperson s report will be made available on the Cape Flora SA website. The AGM was ended with a tour of the new perishable cargo facilities of Sky Services. Our thanks to Jaco Vlok and Bernd Julicher for this interesting visit! 4. Minor Crop Chemical Registration As was mentioned at the AGM, the Alternative Crop Fund allocated funds to Cape Flora SA to perform a second round of chemical registration trials for the industry. Dr Gerhard Malan would like to make use of this opportunity to invite all members to inform him (or the Cape Flora SA office) of any fungicide/ pesticide that is commonly used but not listed on the current critical
needs list (attached). Once he concludes the current negotiations the list of chemicals tested cannot be changed. Members will have time until 22 July 2016 to inform Gerhard or the CFSA office. 5. Upcoming events Cape Floral Kingdom Expo: 18-21 Aug 2016, Bredasdorp Cape Flora SA Board meeting: 18 Aug 2016, Bredasdorp Joint Marketing Forum meeting: 31 Aug 2016, Paarl Vriendelike groete/ Kind regards Lynn Hoffman Chairperson/Voorsitter