The Western Cape Citrus Producers’ Forum (WCCPF), the grouping of about 350 growers in South Africa’s Western and Northern Cape who are eligible to export citrus to the US, have hailed the 2009 season a success, so much so that suppliers are discussing the possibility of adding grapefruit to the offer next year.
“The quality of our citrus this season has been excellent,” said Joretha Geldenhuys, the recently appointed CEO of the WCCPF, in a press release. “The last shipments, Midknights, arrived in Philadelphia in containers on 28 October and all have been pre-sold.”
While the overall tonnage exported in 2009 will equal the almost 35,000 tonnes of 2008, Ms Geldenhuys said the product mix was different this season.
“We exported fewer navels and more clementines this year in anticipation of Chile’s first ever navel exports to the US and this strategy worked well for our export program,” she added.
South African navels were differentiated by their excellent quality resulting in higher achieved prices than competitive products, according to Ms Geldenhuys.
“We have always maintained that we will only ship premium quality citrus to the US and we will continue to do so to enhance our reputation among both retailers and consumers for nutritious, tasty, seedless and easy-to-peel citrus products,” she explained.
South Africa is the second largest exporter of citrus in the world and produces 60 per cent of all citrus grown in the Southern Hemisphere.
Aside from the US, primary export markets include the European Union, Asia, the Middle East, Russia, and the rest of Africa.
South African fruit bound for the US is sourced mainly from the Elephant’s Valley region between the towns of Citrusdal and Clanwilliam, about two hours northwest of Cape Town, and the Northern Cape, near Kimberley.
