The next three weeks are going to be very crucial in determining the success of the South African soft citrus season in the US.
After a good start in which the quality of the South African products were reportedly superior to that of the competition, the season now enters the mid-summer months marked by school holidays and increased availability of US summer fruits.
“The eating quality of the South African fruit and the general appearance is much better than last year,” said Piet Smit, out-going CEO of the Western Cape Citrus Producers’ Forum (WCCPF), who was the first South African industry representative in Philadelphia this year.
“It clearly shows that all our efforts in focusing on quality have been well worth while,' he told Fruitnet.com. 'We wanted to make sure that we only ship the best and so far the fruit is telling the story.”
Mr Smit returned to South Africa this week as harvesting moved from early season clementines to late season mandarins. “We anticipate the next three weeks being tough, but we are in a reasonably good position because we had good sales weeks from the start,” he said. “When our late mandarins arrive, we will be in an excellent position to finish strongly.”
Mr Smit says while the US market has responded well to the new season arrivals of South African citrus the affect of the slowdown in the US economy can clearly be seen. “The shops are emptier and there are fewer cars in the parking lots. We are still waiting for the Obama magic to kick in and turn this giant of the world economy around.”
