First Export To South Africa

Back Country Foods Limited will tomorrow release their first product order into the South African market. After a year of building business relationships, research and developing a new product line Cape Union Mart who operate a chain of outdoor stores in South Africa will receive the Back Country Foods Freeze Dri products.

The Babotjie freeze dri meal has been specifically developed for the South African market. Babotjie is a traditional Afrikaans recipe consisting of beef mince cooked with fruit and raisins with a chutney and curry sauce and has a topping of bread soaked in milk.

Back Country Foods Limited has already offered the Babotjie Freeze Dri meal here in New Zealand. Shirley Ballantyne Director of Back Country Foods said “ The interest we have received from the new Babotijie Freeze Dri is excellent. Retailers have been delighted that we are diversifying the product range”.

Other products being shipped to South Africa include three other beef meals, one chicken, one lamb and a vegetarian.

Arthur Ballantyne Director of Back Country Foods says “Without the staff at Trade NZ to conduct the research into the South African market it would have been difficult to penetrate the South African market. Trade New Zealand have done a great job on our behalf”.
Arthur is also very grateful to the local staff at the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MAF) and Gladevale Chicken. “We are fortunate to have an export chicken abattoir close at hand and the close co-operation of MAF staff,” Arthur says.

To supply chicken product into South Africa has required a close liaison with MAF officials to determine the hygiene requirements for chicken products being exported to the Republic. Back Country foods are the first in New Zealand to export chicken product to South Africa therefore standards have had to be developed. Each chicken has been inspected by MAF staff to enable the requirements to be met.

A further order of Freeze Dri products will leave New Zealand for South Africa in December.

For additional information please contact:

Arthur Ballantyne
Telephone: 03 216 2001 or 0800 223 583 after 6.00 p.m. 03 213 1415
Fax: 03 216 1771
Email: arthurb@xtra.co.nz

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