With food producer Premier Group having announced plans to close its R1-billion Fruit Products Western Cape canning facility, in Tulbagh, and retrench the facility's employees, industry bodies Agri SA, Agri Western Cape and Canning Fruit Producers Association (CFPA) have called for urgent engagement with the company.

The organisations are calling on Premier to honour existing commitments to producers ahead of the 2026/27 harvest and refrain from taking irreversible steps that could undermine the future of the facility and the broader fruit industry.

The Tulbagh cannery processes between 55 000 t/y and 60 000 t/y of fruit and buys about R300-million worth of produce from farmers every year.

More than 200 producers, 2 000 ha of orchards and thousands of permanent and seasonal jobs are connected to the facility and the wider value chain it supports.

Premier cited punitive US export tariffs, weak global consumption and high operating costs as its reasons for the cannery's closure. About 90% of the canned fruit processed at the plant is sent abroad.

Fruit orchards represent long-term investments, typically established over horizons of 20 to 30 years. Producers plan production years in advance and cannot redirect substantial volumes of highly perishable fruit only months before harvest without potentially severe financial consequences.

AgriSA, Agri Western Cape and the CFPA therefore believe every reasonable avenue must be explored before productive capacity that has taken decades to establish is lost.

The organisations recognise that businesses across South Africa's agricultural and food- processing sectors are operating under difficult market conditions. However, the scale and timing of the proposed closure require a process that properly considers the total impact. Of particular concern are existing agreements between producers and Rhodes Food Group, which previously operated the Tulbagh plant before being acquired by Premier and renamed to trade as Fruit Products Western Cape.

“The priority should be to bring all parties around the table while there is still an opportunity to protect the productive capacity of the region,” says Agri SA CEO Johann Kotzé.

“This is not simply about one factory. It concerns farmers who have invested over decades, workers and communities whose livelihoods depend on this value chain, and productive agricultural capacity that cannot easily be recreated once it has been lost,” adds Agri Western Cape CEO Jannie Strydom.

Strydom recognises that commercial realities have to be confronted. However, he explains before irreversible decisions are implemented, every credible commercial alternative should be properly explored. "Our request is straightforward: honour existing commitments, preserve the opportunity to negotiate, and give the parties the time and space required to find a workable solution," Strydom implores.

CFPA CEO Jacques Jordaan says producers remain willing to engage constructively but require certainty regarding their existing contractual arrangements.

“Our producers have made long-term investments and production decisions on the basis of commitments extending beyond a single season. With the next harvest approaching, uncertainty of this magnitude has profound consequences for farming businesses and the communities that depend upon them.

“We want to engage constructively with Premier and any other party capable of contributing to a sustainable solution. At the same time, producers' contractual rights and legitimate interests must be respected," Jordaan states.

The organisations believe there remains an opportunity for business, producers, government, labour and potential investors to work together towards an orderly and commercially sustainable outcome.