Opportunities for Commercialization and Enterprise Development of Indigenous Fruits in Southern Africa - Indigenous Fruit Trees in the Tropics: Domestication, Utilization and Commercialization - page 259

are rotting if fruits are not sold within 3 days (60%), breaking (33%), and theft
of the fruits when stored in market areas (7%) (K. Moombe, unpublished
observations). The way in which fruits are displayed, either on stands or on the
ground, makes it easier for consumers to taste the fruits. Consumers taste the
fruits to ensure that they are buying the sweetest types. Market traders have
indicated that consumer tasting is also a big problem that leads to notable
losses (Ramadhani, 2002).

14.2.6 Value adding

The indigenous fruit marketing system is characterized by a lack of
sophisticated product differentiation activities. At the producer and wholesaler
levels, pre-sale processes such as washing, grading, sorting and packing do not
exist. Traders believe that the fruits coming from trees are clean and that there
is no need for further processing (Ramadhani, 2002). In Tanzania, indigenous
fruits are not displayed as prominently as other produce in rural markets. In
some instances the other produce would be displayed on tables, while the
indigenous fruits would be kept in containers on the ground. Indigenous fruits
are sold mostly to women and children as a snack that is often eaten fresh in
the market. Indigenous fruits can therefore be considered as products that
consumers buy on impulse, in very small quantities, and that are consumed
very soon after being purchased. People come to the market to buy other
goods and see that indigenous fruits are present, and then purchase them.
Retailers of U. kirkiana in Zimbabwe conduct simple processing activities
such as sorting rotten fruit, dividing fruits in to selling units, and sometimes
washing. Other retailers, however, felt that the practice of washing and

Table 14.1. Risks and benefits of different actors along a typical indigenous fruit supply chain.

Actor Risks Benefits

Collector Transport costs Income from sale to wholesaler and retailer

Danger from wild animals and Access to 'free' resource

snakes during collection
No fixed agreements with
retailers or wholesalers

Wholesaler Market space rental and taxes Bulk-buying allows for setting of purchase

High stock losses due to spoilage prices

Dependent on the reliability of Freedom to buy from a large pool of

collectors for supply collectors

Uncertainty of fruit supply Relatively high profit margins

Retailer Market rental and taxes Less spoilage than wholesalers

Stock losses due to spoilage Diversification by selling not only

Dependent on wholesalers indigenous fruits

High transaction cost due to Relatively high profit margin

low sales volume Can buy directly from collectors