Import giant Capespan North America is looking to expand its summer citrus import deal in the US and Canada as it approaches the new season with optimism.
Thanks to the synergy between its South African and Chilean citrus programmes the two supply deals have already led to “great success”; allowing the firm to supply customers with a continuous flow of citrus from June through early November.
“We see potential to increase the breadth of our distribution and encourage more retail chain-stores to get behind a summer citrus programme, presenting it as an offering that legitimately sits alongside – and competes well with – domestic summer fruit,” Mark Greenberg, president and CEO of Capespan North America, told Americafruit.
“This is always the challenge. With a Californian navel season that extends into July and, with a lot of excellent summer domestic fruit featured by retailers from late May onward, we have to work hard to be sure imported summer citrus gets its fair share of shelf space.”
Capespan North American expects to receive an excellent crop of normal-sized navel oranges from early July onwards.
And although South African easy-peeler volumes to North America will likely decline, because of better opportunities elsewhere in the world, he expects the contraction will be offset by expected gains from Chile and Peru.
The full report is published in the April/May issue of Americafruit.
