Whilst its membership is voluntary, strict accreditation criteria are put in place to ensure that only competent and reliable marketing agents and grower-exporters are admitted to the Forum.
The FPEF’s mission is to create, within free-market principles and a deregulated environment, a prosperous but disciplined fruit-export sector. It was established primarily to provide leadership and services to its members and the international buying community.
The Top of the Class (TOC) training programme is an initiative of the Fresh Produce Exporters’ Forum (FPEF) to drive sustainable transformation within the South African fruit export sector.
This training programme provides a unique opportunity for previously disadvantaged individuals to be exposed to the entire fresh fruit value chain – from harvest to home.
The TOC started six years ago and has run in five of eight fruit producing provinces to date. In essence, this programme strives to create a new generation of entrepreneurs and skilled workers at grass roots level in the industry.