The farmer plants and harvests peanuts with great effort and great care, but peanut production still needs more to make its mark in the market. This is where the peanut processing experts, Triotrade South Africa steps in to clean, shell, sort, and market the peanuts.

Triotrade has peanut processing plants in Schweizer-Reneke, Bela-Bela, and recent new addition in Hoopstad, along with a warehouse in Pretoria and production facilities in the Northern Cape and Namibia.

Triotrade Schweizer-Reneke

Established in 1996 following the dissolution of the National Oil Seeds Board, Triotrade Schweizer-Reneke boasts an astounding 28 years of experience in the industry. The peanut processing plant is located on the outskirts of Schweizer-Reneke in South Africa’s North-West Province. This facility plays a crucial role in delivering higher-quality peanuts to both local and international customers. The plant specialises in Spanish-type, round-shaped peanuts, which are particularly popular in markets such as Japan and Europe.

Triotrade Schweizer-Reneke processes tonnes of peanuts for export to these regions and also processes peanuts for local peanut butter and confectionery manufacturers such as RCL Foods, Tiger Brands and Pepsi Co., using state-of-the-art processing equipment and sorting machines imported from America to ensure superior product quality and efficient processing.

This plant features a modern drying facility that minimises aflatoxin risks associated with peanuts.

Wessel Higgs, the CEO of Triotrade, explained the process of the peanut processing plant. The foundation of this business is the farmer who produces peanuts (without the farmer, there will be no peanuts).

Triotrade is very particular with the type of peanut they process. They supply their seed cultivars to the farmer with a sale and repurchase agreement for when the peanuts are harvested, which entails the purchase of the whole harvest, not just a fraction of it.

This encourages the farmer to cultivate optimal peanuts and thereby cover all the input costs.

The agreement has a minimum guaranteed price that states that the cost for the peanuts cannot go below the indicated price, and thereby gives the farmer a financial guideline to work from. Once the peanuts are harvested, they are transferred to the different facilities so that the processing can start.

Wessel says that there are seasons where there is a shortage of peanuts due to environmental and unforeseen circumstances. In such an event, Triotrade will import peanuts from Brazil or Argentina.

High temperatures stall the peanut growth process, which restricts the yield of the farmer and also the quantity of peanuts delivered to the factory. The more products you have, the lower the processing costs. The goal is to always have enough products for the clients buying from Triotrade.

Hoopstad peanut processing plant

With many successful years in business, Triotrade is expanding its facilities and recently bought a new peanut processing plant at Hoopstad in the Free State. Wessel says there is always a drive to grow in a business. The plant in Hoopstad is similar to the plant in Schweizer-Reneke, and operating to full capacity for approximately six weeks during harvest time, where a minimum of six thousand tonnes of peanuts are processed. This business expansion opens the opportunity to process more peanuts, and thereby increase the supply for national and international clients.

For Wessel, the heart of the business is long-term client relations with peanut farmers and clients (local and international). It is important to understand clients’ needs, to know exactly what they are looking for with regard to the peanut shape, size and taste so that their needs can be met, says Wessel.

Triotrade’s vision will continue growing new cultivars to expand their business as needed.

For more information, contact Triotrade at (+27)12-803-9336.