Koppert expands into promising South African market

Koppert Biological Systems is expanding its activities on the African continent with the establishment of Koppert South Africa.
 
Koppert already has two African sales offices, in Morocco and Kenya. As from 1 August, Koppert South Africa has been added to this list.
 
Henri Oosthoek, Koppert's managing director, says that the South African market is "more than promising." "The continent of Africa can expect to see a great many developments in the field of agriculture and horticulture over the coming decades. The Koppert offices in Morocco and Kenya are outstanding examples of this."
 
South Africa was deliberately chosen to be the location of Koppert's third branch on the continent. It is one of the emerging economies of the BRICS group. "A growing domestic economy and a rising middle class will cause the demand for safe food products to increase even further," Oosthoek expects.
 
The new branch is a joint venture together with Koppert's former distribution partner Vista Verde. Koppert South Africa will focus primarily on the sales of natural enemies and microbiological products for greenhouse cultivation of vegetables and flowers.
 
The use of the most important natural enemies has already been authorised and these products are available on a weekly basis. Koppert expects that the number of authorisations will rise quickly, meaning that a complete package of biological beneficials will soon be available for agriculture and horticulture.