Mother nature has shined kindly on US agribusiness Limoneira in a landmark season for its orange programmes.
“The weather has been cooperating in December and January, and rain has been plentiful,” says John Chamberlain, Limoneira’s director of marketing. “Limoneira’s navels have been good quality with a great brix/acid ratio.”
The current season has seen Limoneira launch direct sales of oranges and specialty citrus varieties, bringing them in-house under its ‘One World of Citrus’ model. The move comes after the Santa Paula-based agribusiness took its lemon marketing and distribution in-house in 2010.
Chamberlain says the company is focused on servicing the same markets it currently sells its lemons to, including Japan, South Korea, Australia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Vietnam and Taiwan.
With production bases in both the US and South Africa, and an international sales team in place, Limoneira is now well positioned to provide oranges to its global client base year-round.
“We have packed our own oranges for close to a century, so this [side of the business] really isn’t new,” Chamberlain says. “Coordination from all aspects of our operation is critical. Our harvest, packing, sales and marketing teams meet regularly to take advantage of opportunities as they arise.”
Navels make up 80 per cent of Limoneira’s round citrus crop, with the company also growing Cara Cara and Pink Navels, along with other specialty citrus lines such as Moro blood oranges, pomelos, Star Ruby grapefruit and limes.
“Produce buyers want to be able to purchase from a citrus grower with multiple varieties,” Chamberlain tells Fruitnet.
