Historically, processing of fruit and vegetables in its simplest form like pickling, sun drying or making preserves was practiced in the country from very ancient times in almost every home. In Lesotho, little activity has been done in processing of fruit and vegetables for commercial purposes. In an effort to diversify its export base, Lesotho has identified processing of fruit and vegetables as a potential production area.

Feasibility for production of deciduous fruit has been successfully piloted indicating fruit with high growth potential like:

• peaches,
• apples,
• cherries,
• plums,
• berries,
• grapes and
• pears

Tremendous potential also lies in the production of high value cash crops such as mushrooms, asparagus, beans, peas, spinach, tomatoes and potatoes.

A Cannery already exists which produces mostly for the EU market and operates for seven months per annum, from September to March of the following year. The Cannery has a capacity to produce +/- 10 tons of asparagus per day, +/- 10 tons of peaches per day and +/- 6 tons of baked beans per day.