TROPICAL FRUIT PRODUCTION IN THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE

On a global scale, tropical and subtropical fruit production in the Southern Hemisphere is minor. Considerable potential exists, however, to increase production and exploit export market niches by extending seasons of production and exploiting out of season markets in the Northern hemisphere. For this to be successful, thorough market research and vigorous promotion must be carried out, reliable production of high quality fruit must be guaranteed and the necessary infrastructure including packaging, processing, storage, transport and distribution must be set in place to ensure that farm-fresh quality fruit is delivered to markets on time. There are likely to be advantages in regional co-operation and co-ordination of these activities to optimise benefits from the resources invested. Commitment of research resources to increase efficiency of production may not be justified unless favourable potential marketing opportunities have been identified. Regional and international research co-operation should be encouraged to elicit the maximum benefit from limited resources available for tropical fruit research.