A new mandarin cultivar exported by Capespan will shortly hit the UK supermarket shelves. A citrus farm in the Gouda region of Western Cape is one of the first orchards to put the new clementine on the marketplace for 2003. And first commercial exports of Nadorcott are anticipated to be between 15,000 and 20,000 cartons ñ mainly destined for the UK, US, continental Europe and the Middle East.
Trademarked by cultivar management company, Citrospan as ClemenGold, Chris Steyn, executive director of Capespan stone and soft citrus says: “As exporters of South African produce we know the value of an extended marketing period for citrus growers, but ClemenGold is more than a perfectly timed product ñ it is such an exciting new variety that markets are eagerly awaiting new shipments after only receiving trial pallets from South Africa these past two years.”
Citrospan's Graham Barry reveals that South Africa was given the right to produce 600 hectares of Nadorcott from which an estimated 1.8 million - 2m 10kg cartons are predicted by 2013. “Nadorcott is exceptionally well-coloured, and matures later than any other mandarin at a time when there are relatively few mandarins available,” explains Dr Barry. “When grown under isolated non-pollinating conditions, totally seedless fruit can be produced. The fruit has a high-sugar content and moderate acid, resulting in a well-balanced flavour.
Capespan will be the only exporter to distribute ClemenGold as well as two other trade names, ClemenOrr and HoneyGold to world markets for the next two years.
The fruit has an unexpected sweetness and peels easily, which should make it a favourite with UK consumers.
Keeping the trade happy should be no problem this year as far as other citrus is concerned. Overall, says Citrus South Africa's Gerrit Booyens, the season compares well to last year with a similar crop size. Internal quality is also significantly better with a higher percentage of category 1 fruit. A notable development says Booyens, is “the improved rhythm and rate of supply due to an attempt to match demand with the freshest fruit available. Increased volumes of soft citrus to the US market moderated the flow of easy-peelers to Europe during traditional peaks in late May and early June. Relatively low forward stocks in markets also assisted healthy sales”.
High sugar levels and exceptional quality have also been achieved thanks to a drier climate. “Initially it was feared that fruit size may have been compromised, but the latest reports indicate that fruit sizes on Navel, grapefruit and soft citrus were similar and often better distributed towards the popular sizes than last year,” says Booyens. “External quality, particularly on grapefruit and Valencia types is turning out a high proportion of category 1 fruit. Although the 2003 estimates are not being achieved throughout, it is evident that we are experiencing a very similar crop to last year. Grapefruit has a less pronounced peak, but the shoulder of the season is extended to ensure a longer season. The two weeks late start in the northern production regions was mainly responsible for the extension of the season.”
Grapefruit has a tight season anyway, and, says Begnat Robichaud, commercial executive at Thames Fruit, substantial quantities of fruit from South Africa, particularly grapefruit, started late. While the issue with 2,4-D meant that other, non-EU markets became much more attractive ñ particularly Japan and the Middle East.
Van der Lans is enjoying a successful season. Commercial director Gunnar van Doorn says: “We've had shipments of approximately 750,000 cartons in total of mixed citrus to various markets. All the procuring, packing and logistics is carried out from our South African office ñ Van der Lans Capefresh Pty ñ directly, and sales are co-ordinated in conjunction with the Dutch office so we have a good spread. It's this flexibility which enables us to provide the markets that we have the most interest in, while not forgetting to serve our customers in other parts of the world.”
Currency pressure has dominated the thoughts of South African citrus producers in recent years and as the rand increases in strength, price-related challenges for 2003 continue at the fore. This season South African produce is achieving good money. “Prices have become more solid as the total number of cartons shipped to Europe has decreased as exports to other parts of the world have increased,” van Doorn explains. “Due to a lack of quantity in grapefruit, we have seen good prices throughout the season. We are seeing very good receipts for direct UK shipments from South Africa as the brand La Rhyn becomes increasingly identified as one of the best around. And customers are prepared to guarantee value instead of gambling on buying unknown quality on a spot basis.
“We find that easy-peelers still represent growth as long as the quality is good. But grapefruit will be short this season and it will not run long enough to fill up the gap until fresh Florida arrivals. This will result in the continuation of high prices until at least early October when there will be other Latin American sources on the market again.
“With regard to lemons, we have noticed a lot of our customers ñ both wholesale market and supermarket chains ñ have switched to South African lemons and didn't take any Argentinean on. The challenge for next season will be, as it seems they have won the quality race against other sources, to get enough supply,” he says.
Certainly South African citrus meets all the requirements that Asda is looking for. “South Africa remains the principal source for availability, quality and price,” says Robichaud, “and that's how it fits in with Asda's objectives.”
But there remains plenty of scope for South African produce to compete on a global level. Says Booyens: “We are anxiously awaiting the opening of China for all citrus. Access to Japan for soft citrus is, hopefully, imminent while the US, Russian and far eastern markets are all showing healthy growth.”
A prominent concern, Booyens continues, is the strengthening of the rand, “but the main issues are to accelerate the rapid stream of Eurep-GAP certified producers and to comply with the demand for traceability and the harmonisation of coding practices”.
Despite many advances, in South Africa's de-regulated environment there is still much to achieve. “We owe it to our trading partners and customers in the international market to supply what they need,” says Booyens. “Our market intelligence and decision-support systems are improving. Optional marked target markets in Europe have diminished from 87 per cent in 1999 to less than five per cent in 2002 and iare still decreasing. This seemingly innocuous figure indicates that far less fruit is aimed at the open consignment markets and that more fruit is destined for specific programmes.
“The South African producer is focusing on meeting all the strenuous food safety, Eurep-GAP traceability and other demands from the market. In fact, we intend to surpass market demands with cutting-edge technology to support our trading partners in managing procurement, and channel risks by supporting a high-quality flow of fruit with the best available information and decision support systems. Inexpensive, effective and efficient track and tracing will not only effect full process traceability but also ensure accurate crop estimates, tracking logistics trackability from either end of the chain and comprehensive risk management.”
“For our company,” says van Doorn, “our priority is to maintain high-quality levels in order to keep consistent quality for our brand and to satisfy our growers. As our customers are continuously seeking a direct-import facility for good quality fruit, we believe we can realise the growth of our market share over next year as long as we keep on selecting our growers for good quality. It is our goal to get everyone in the process from grower to customer to understand each other's problems and to keep everyone satisfied.”
What is most important, van Doorn continues, is that certain areas are recognised for their specialities. “For instance we are only shipping Navel oranges from Citrusdal in the Western Cape which we know have good external and internal qualities. Importing simply on the basis of quantity while considering quality as of secondary importance just will not work in the long term.”
Certainly the outlook is much improved on three years ago. “We have succeeded in trebling the revenues from the disastrous 2000 season. Our internal production statistics and market intelligence are improving every season and we are focusing strongly on our production, logistics and post-harvest management practices to provide our markets only with what they require and nothing else,” says Booyens.
“Key to achieving our goals will be the collection, analysis, distribution of and continuously refining flow of information and knowledge between industry participants. Relationships with existing and new clients will be built on a base consisting of world-class information and communication technology, logistic excellence, collaborative forecasting, measurement and planning, and progressively culling waste and adding value to our members' operations.”
And more improvements are promised. “We have only scratched the surface,” says van Booyens.
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