Heavy rain and floods in South Africa’s Cape region have disrupted citrus harvesting but not affected export schedules, shippers report.
Downpours over the past few days caused the tributaries of the Olifants River to burst their banks, damaging roads, particularly in the upper regions of the valley.
But the inclement weather, which did wash away some growers’ trees, did not affect the loading and departure of the third reefer vessel of the season to the US.
“The rain has disrupted harvesting, but it does not affect the packing activities as the rain was preceded by some fine weather and we have enough fruit to pack,” said Piet Smit, CEO of the Western Cape Citrus producers’ Forum (WCCPF).
“However, damage to roads temporarily cut off a number of packhouses and farms in the upper regions of the valley. Work teams have done emergency repairs and the movement of fruit has returned to normal.”
Meanwhile, South African grapefruit shipments to Japan are expected to be well down on last season. Industry spokesman Chris Chance told Fruitnet that Japanese volumes have dropped from 4.6m to 3.4m cartons. “The major reason for this drop in volume is that the fruit sizes are too big for the Japanese market,” he said.
