Citrus industry pays tribute to visionary Deon Joubert

Citrus Growers’ Association (CGA) has paid tribute to Deon Joubert, who passed away on 25 November. The organisation stated that Joubert didn’t just live, he thrived, and was known for his humour, energy and incredible warmth.

Justin Chadwick, the former CEO of the CGA, highlighted both Deon’s professional and personal contributions.

“Deon changed the trajectory of the CGA and the citrus industry. His understanding of the corridors of power in Brussels, his extensive network in Europe, his understanding of the shipping and port environment, his ability to conjure up market access strategies and his ability to convince people were instrumental in the continued growth of exports to the European Union,” Chadwick said.

A life well-lived

According to CGA, Joubert was at the very centre of South Africa’s citrus industry since he joined the CGA as its European Union Special Envoy in 2014.

“He became more than a colleague; he became a friend. We travelled extensively together, and he never tired and was always thinking of the next step. And who will ever forget the loud ‘Hello Boeta’ or ‘Hello Young Man’ heard across trade floors and in meetings. When Deon arrived, everybody knew he was there.”

Hannes de Waal, CEO of the Sundays River Citrus Company, said Joubert was simply a force of nature.

“He was one of a kind and completely out of the box. Disruptive, but so charismatic that you just had to forgive him. His optimistic, can-do attitude and passion for our industry and people all over the world were clear. Whenever I phoned with a problem, he knew precisely who I should speak to,” he said.

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The current CEO of the CGA, Dr Boitshoko Ntshabele, also remembers Joubert with great fondness.

“He was well-known and beloved in many circles for his immense knowledge of trade policy, export dynamics and supply chain logistics. Few have had such a profound impact on the trajectory of the fruit industry in South Africa as Deon did. We will miss him dearly,” he said.

Ntshabele noted Joubert’s charm and his talent for reducing highly complex situations down to their clear, understandable elements. Both these traits made Deon beloved by the media who covered the citrus industry, and he was regularly seen on television or heard on the radio proudly talking about South Africa’s largest agricultural export industry.

An ambassador for citrus

Gerrit van der Merwe, the chairman of the CGA, highlighted Joubert’s broad knowledge and strategic thinking. “He offered a very special thing: perspective. That was important.

“Often, we growers get stuck in our own environment, but Deon made everyone aware of what was happening abroad, of the bigger picture he was constantly pushing you to see the industry within that context,” Van der Merwe said.

Leo Holt, the president of Holt Logistics, recalls Joubert’s distinctive character: “He brought common sense mixed with a very deep humanity to every single encounter with people.

“His background as a diplomat, as an economist, as a raconteur, was only trumped by his very deep love of family, in the broadest sense of that word. First and foremost, for his close family, but then also every person who was pulled into the trail of stardust that follows the type of star Deon was,” Holt said.

“He was an ambassador for citrus, throughout the world, and a proud South African, and he made people aware of the economic opportunity citrus offered many South Africans,” Holt noted.

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