South African exporters have been taking advantage of butternut shortages in Europe, says Thabile Nkunjana.
In recent weeks, butternut squash has been in short supply throughout the European Union (EU).
Since last year, Portugal and Spain have been struggling to keep up with demand. Meanwhile, supplies from Ukraine, which has expanded its sales in the EU over recent years, have been disrupted due to the Russian invasion.
EU members typically can supply butternuts to their own market until April, at which point countries like South Africa, Argentina, Peru, Mexico, New Zealand, Morocco, and Egypt start to supply the market.
When the EU supply starts to decline, Morocco and Egypt have an edge over other producers because of their proximity to the EU market.
South Africa has, however, done well in this European market, which has long been a partner for its agricultural products.
South Africa was the world's 13th-largest exporter of pumpkins, squash, and gourds in 2021, growing its exports of South African pumpkins, squash, and gourds surged from 18 022 tonnes to 30 941 tonnes in four years.
Demand from Netherlands, UK, and Botswana were the main drivers of this growth. A third of all South Africa exports went to the Netherlands, followed by the UK (29%), Botswana (9%), Spain (9%), Italy (6%) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) (5%). In 2021, exports from South Africa to Spain, Italy, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) increased considerably.
The global demand for butternuts is only expected to grow, thanks to its strong nutritional value. South Africa can still grow its exports to North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. This will help to cushion the hit it took after Namibia and Botswana prohibited the import of several vegetable products from South Africa in 2022.
But it faces strong competition overseas – particularly from Argentina, which is a noticeable exporter of butternuts to the EU market.
But Argentina has its own problems: the third straight year of the La Niña phenomena, rising input costs, evolving policy, and rising inflation have all hurt production.
South African crops should be in good shape, thanks to above-average rainfall. Harvests should be solid, if excessive rains do not cause disruption.
Apart from butternuts, the EU offers other great opportunities to South Africa, especially for processed or raw vegetables with long shelf lives including carrots, garlic and also onions, which currently command eye-watering prices. This is because there is a massive global shortage of onions, with Spain – a large supplier – reporting a 40% decrease in onion output for 2022.Thabile Nkunjana is an agricultural economist in the Agro-Food Chains Markets and Economic Research Division of the National Agricultural Marketing Council. News24 encourages freedom of speech and the expression of diverse views. The views of columnists published on News24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent the views of News24.