Making fruitful comparisons: Southern hemisphere producers and the global apple industry

Apples along with bananas and oranges are major constituents of a global fr esh fruit and vegetable complex (FFV), This paper adopts Philip McMichael's ideas of singular incorporated comparison within a food regimes framework as a means of examining the major Southern hemisphere apple exporting count ries. A high level of differentiation among apple exporting countries is re vealed in the way in which various producers are integrated into the global FFV complex, This differentiation is manifest in production technology, va riety development, research and development focus and ultimately, market pr emiums and market share. In over-supplied world fruit markets demanding con stant innovation, quality accountability and value for money, competing Sou thern hemisphere exporters face increasing pressures and risks to position themselves profitably within the FFV complex.