OVERVIEW OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN PAPAYA INDUSTRY

Abstract

The papaya industry is a small but lucrative industry in South Africa. The fruit is currently marketed on the local/domestic market. The primary production techniques range from land preparation to planting and thinning techniques right through to harvesting and postharvest techniques. The postharvest handling of the papaya in South Africa is carried out in a bulk pack house where the fruit is dipped into a fungicide bath to reduce postharvest decay. After sorting a wax is applied to the papaya fruit to assist with appearance. The fruit is then packed into crates for storage in the ripening rooms. From these ripening rooms the fruit is moved to a pre-pack facility for pre-packaging for specific supermarkets. This is the postharvest value adding process. There are pest and diseases that affect the industry. New markets need to be established either local or export markets to manage the increasing volumes of papaya. The South African climate is not ideal for the production of papaya which remains the biggest challenge that the industry faces. There are very limited papaya production areas within the country. Future prospect would be to make use of cold tolerant papaya varieties, optimum use of irrigation and fertilization, improve the disease control methods and establish new markets through awareness programs and marketing strategies.