Yukon International is the largest supplier and exporter of baby vegetables in South Africa and supplies some of the most discerning retailers in the world.
The production of baby vegetables is a specialized business, very labour intensive and the products are highly perishable. The baby vegetables have to be harvested, packaged and shipped within a few short hours after readiness to ensure maximum freshness and quality. That is why it is imperative that shipping is done in a timely and efficient manner. To ensure the best service all air freight for Yukon is handled by Morganair Cargo Group.
Yukon International has offices in the UK and Europe that act as marketing agents. This guarantees the best possible service to their customers.
Yukon Farms
The majority of the baby vegetables that are exported are grown by Yukon Farms, outside Bothaville, in the Free State Province.The sandy loam soil, warm dry climate and a constant supply of river water are ideal for the production of excellent quality vegetables, all year round. The rest of the vegetables are grown at dedicated out-growers from Mpumalanga Province, Northwest Province, Limpopo Province and Swaziland. This ensures that all the baby vegetables on the Yukon product list are available twelve months of the year.
The Farm is 356 hectares in size and about 510 hectares of baby vegetables are planted every year. The extra hectares are hired on a rotation basis from other farmers in the area. Our water comes from a sustainable water source, the Vals River that is one of the Vaal River’s branches.
The Farm operates six days per week and nine hours per day. The staff works on a five day per week rotation basis which gives each staff member two days per week off, including all Sundays. The main division of labour on the Farm is Production and Support. Production staff works on a production bonus system which improves efficiencies and allows these team members to generate their own income – which is normally substantially higher than the minimum wages as set out in local legislation. Support staff works on straight pay according to their various positions.
Yukon Fresh Produce (Europe)
Yukon International has a European marketing office, based in the UK – Yukon Fresh Produce (Europe) Ltd. This office completes the link between customer and grower and also allows for the business to extend it product offer by developing new sources of supply, in addition to the baby vegetables from South Africa (contact details listed below).
Yukon Fresh Produce (Europe) Ltd was formed in August 2006. This business is managed and run by Colin Bugler from a small office in the South of England. The aim of this business is to provide the link between growers and customers, ensuring a ‘hands on’ approach to the areas of procurement planning and forecasting, logistical efficiency and accuracy, customer service and product development. Colin has over 25 years of experience in senior positions within the fresh produce industry, including procurement, operational, technical & quality assurance, sales and general management.
The Office manages customers across Europe and is continually expanding its base to ensure that the growers have the best marketing access for their products. The business was initially formed to market airfreight baby vegetables from South Africa, but is now expanding its product and procurement base to include many other specialist vegetables (both by sea and air), from varying sources of supply.
For growers seeking to have a much greater management of their product planning, development and marketing, this Company would certainly meet these criteria. For customers seeking to have a much closer hands-on approach to procurement and logistical management of specialist products, they would benefit from the many years of experience held within this small office unit.
History
Yukon International was founded in 1991 and at that time acted solely as a marketing agent. Over the years the company expanded and purchased Yukon Farms in the Orange Free State in 1998. The European Marketing Office was opened in October 2006.
The company has slowly grown into the biggest producer and exporter of baby vegetables in South Africa.
Philosophy
Our goal is to produce a high quality, high volume product for twelve months of the year to complete customer satisfaction, at a profit, in a black economically empowered working environment.
Accreditations
Yukon Farms is Globalgap, Tesco Nature’s Choice and Woolworths (IBL) accredited and is also registered on the SEDEX database as a B member.
