Citrus growers from the Western Cape and US marketers including Seald Sweet, DNE, Capespan, and AMC have held the 2017 Summer Citrus from South Africa (SCSA) planning meeting to review sales and marketing plans, production volumes, shipping schedules and category trends for the new season.
SCSA’ Piet Smit provided a production update, confirming that volumes have increased across the board. Easy peelers, Navels and Midknights have risen by 15 per cent, 7 per cent and 40 per cent respectively, while Cara Caras and Star Ruby grapefruit are up 11 per cent and 26 per cent.
Sam’s Club’s Shanan Cox outlined the trends in citrus consumption and purchasing behaviour of the Club Channel shopper while Joel Nelson from California Citrus Mutual spoke on behalf of the California citrus producers to educate the group on economic realities of the citrus market in America.
“I’ve had the honour to be part of the South African programme now for 17 seasons. We’ve come a long way, and weathered several perfect storms together,” said CEO of Seald Sweet, Mayda Sotomayor. “Now look at us and what has been accomplished – we’re growing stronger each year and building a legacy.”
DMA Solutions’ CEO Dan’l Mackey Almy and vice president Megan Zweig presented the results of last year’s inaugural consumer marketing campaign along with expected outcomes of this year’s marketing efforts, based on the data collected from last year’s consumer outreach.
The company’s Swing Into Summer! promotion will launch next month, followed by an influencer-based promotion in July – all with the goal to educate and inspire the use of Summer Citrus from South Africa while it’s available.
“Our annual planning meeting is a vital part of our company’s success and offers the opportunity to bring all of our partners together before our first vessel arrives in the US in June,” said SCSA CEO Suhanra Conradie.
“This year was a tremendous success as we’ve continued to bring thoughtful discussion to the table in order to best serve the US market while domestic citrus is not available.”
Established in 1999, SCSA represents a group of 230 South African citrus growers who consolidate their logistics, marketing and sales efforts to supply the US market during the summer season.
