Raisins SA welcomes Wessel Lemmer as its new Chief Executive Officer, who will start this new position on 6 January 2025.
We acknowledge the success of our team under the leadership of our outgoing CEO, Dr Ferdie Botha, who has played an outstanding strategic role in growing Raisins SA’s capacity, service delivery and brand awareness over the past seven years.
‘’Dr Botha leaves us with a great team here at Raisins SA. I look forward to building on his legacy as we continue to develop the raisin industry, not only for the producers and packers represented on our Board, but also in the interests of all key stakeholders. We all have a stake in the success of a sustainable and profitable raisin industry. Our immediate priorities are to promote demand for an excellent quality product, to increase national raisin production and to encourage confidence in a fair and secure market.’ – Wessel Lemmer
A seasoned agricultural economist, Wessel’s experience in agriculture spans more than 30 years since the start of his M.Sc.Agric degree study at the University of the Free State in 1993. He studied the financial viability of farmers in the Lower Orange River area for floods of various magnitudes and started his career in agriculture with a survey in the Lower Orange River and is back in Upington to complete the circle of serving the South African raisin value chain.
He brings a toolkit of relevant knowledge and experience gained over the past 18 years. He has worked as a senior agricultural economist: Markets at Grain SA, a grain and oilseed producer organisation and as Chief Agricultural Economist at Absa and Head of the Centre of Excellence at the Retail and Business Bank division in Johannesburg. He and his team analysed the agricultural markets and price drivers to identify future opportunities and risks. As General Manager of Agbiz Grain in Pretoria, he developed new initiatives and advocacy on behalf of the grain storage sector, which collectively owns 98% of all JSE-listed silos and stores approximately 70% of all grain produced in South Africa.
‘’Wessel’s vision is in line with Raisins SA’s strategy (Rise v.2) for the next five years. He is known for his strategic thinking, creativity, attention to detail and strong focus on implementation and delivery. He is honest, open and says exactly what he means’’ – David van der Merwe (Chairperson: Raisins SA).