The citrus industry expects an increase in export volumes in the build up to the exports season, the Citrus Growers' Association of Southern Africa (CGA) said yesterday.
Justin Chadwick, the CEO of CGA said this comes in the face of steep increases in input costs, load shedding and deteriorating public infrastructure.
The increase in the export volumes was also due to younger trees coming into production across a number of regions.
The CGA presented its predicted export volumes for the upcoming season at the Citrus Marketing Forum last week.
The estimates provided for the 2024 season included the current prediction that 37.9 million (15kg) cartons of lemons would be exported to key markets, an increase of 7% over last year. This continued the upward curve of lemon exports, which had more than doubled since 2016.
Figures for oranges were also expected to be also up, by a 4% increase in export volume for navel oranges, with 25.6 million (15kg) cartons expected to be packed. After two years of suppressed Valencia orange exports, production was likely to improve this year and return to the long-term trajectory. An increase on last year’s export volumes of 12% to 58 million (15kg) cartons was projected.
However, the Orange Focus Group highlighted that due to substantially higher returns expected for fruit being supplied to local processors, exports could be reduced by up to 5%. This had not been factored into the forecast of 58 million cartons.
Grapefruit exports were also predicted to increase back up to the long-term average. The 14% growth figure translated into 16.7 million (15kg) cartons. The increased export volumes were partly ascribed to processing fruit (PP class) once again being exported to China, which was not the case last year.
The Satsuma season was likely to close around the 1.7 million mark (up 16%), while Clementines and Novas were expected to reach 5.4 million (up 8%) and 4.5 million (up 8%), respectively.
It was too early to tell what the late mandarin crop would be at this stage and a full estimate would be available later in the season, the CGA said.
Chadwick said last year’s export season, Southern African citrus growers packed 165.1 million (15kg) cartons for delivery to global markets.
“The industry can, if all role-players work together, potentially reach the target of 200 million cartons in the next four years, and possibly 260 million cartons by 2032. It is important to note that while volumes are increasing, this does not automatically mean an increase in the profitability or viability of many citrus farms, given the steep increases in input costs across the value chain,” Chadwick said.
While the increase in predicted export volumes for this season placed the industry on a stronger trajectory to achieve these goals, severe challenges remained.
Chadwick said, “The European Union's discriminatory and unscientific phytosanitary regulations regarding Citrus Black Spot (CBS) and False Coddling Moth (FCM) is a serious threat as it could lead to South Africa being denied access to the European market – a market which accounts for more than one-third of South African citrus exports.”
Given the high stakes, the CGA hoped the South African government would soon call for the establishment of an independent World Trade Organisation (WTO) panel to adjudicate on the FCM matter. On CBS it was essential that the government called for a WTO consultation process, the CWA said
Last month, the National Agricultural Marketing Council (Namc) said recent data revealed a concerning trend. South Africa’s fruit and almond exports to the European Union (EU) market were on a downward trajectory.
In 2003, the EU accounted for 61% of South Africa’s fruit and almond exports, but it had decreased to 45% in 2022, the Namc said.
Meanwhile, the CGA said inefficient logistics remained a major concern.
“Congestion at the ports has been holding back growth in the citrus sector and the SA economy at large. Transnet, in collaboration with industry stakeholders, have been addressing port efficiency in the past months and will continue unabated to do so, but the fear still remains that equipment breakdowns and related disruptions might influence exports this season,” it said.
Last week, the first 10 of 45 fully-assembled haulers arrived at the Durban Container Terminals (DCT) ahead of the start of South Africa’s citrus season next month.
Malaysia’s Terberg Tractors would ship another 25 haulers in the middle of this month and the last batch of 10 at the end of May next month.The equipment would be allocated across DCT Pier 1 and DCT Pier 2, with each terminal receiving 23 and 22 haulers, respectively.
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