Philadelphia, Pa. – After four weeks, the South African summer citrus season is well underway and is looking promising for U.S. consumers who have grown accustomed to the highest quality of citrus that is available in the summer.
During June and July, Clementines and early Navels arrived from South Africa on refrigerated reefer ships and to a lesser degree, refrigerated containers. After arrival in the port of Philadelphia, the fruit is sent in refrigerated trucks to supermarket retailers across the U.S.
“These are premium products and we are so proud to be able to offer only the very best fruit South Africa has to offer to the U.S. market,” said Gerrit van der Merwe, a grower and chairman of the Western Cape Citrus Producers Forum (WCCPF). “We say that our fruit is the pride of our land and so it is.” The WCCPF is a consortium of about 350 South African growers eligible to export summer citrus to the U.S. (www.summercitrus.com )
“In addition to the Clementines and navel oranges, we will follow these up with oranges known as navellates, or late navels. They will be available soon in the U.S.,” said van der Merwe. “This type of eating orange is characterized by its deep orange color and it delivers a delicious sweet burst of juicy goodness. For those whose favorites are Mandarins or soft citrus, they will be available on supermarket shelves soon also.”
U.S. consumers prefer larger sized fruit and fruit from South Africa fits that profile. “Size matters and South Africa delivers,” said van der Merwe, “but it is meaningless without flavor and the good news is our fruit delivers that too.” The brix or sweetness levels have been consistently high compared to the sour or acidic levels of other fruit not sought after by the U.S. palate, he said.
To date, four ships have arrived in the U.S. from South Africa. They are scheduled to arrive about every 10 days to assure the freshest fruit is available on a regular and sustained basis in U.S. grocery stores. Fruit harvesting in the groves and fruit being packed for the USA in packhouses of the Western Cape are active virtually around the clock to assure a regular arrival of the best fruit here.
Citrus from South Africa comes from the Western Cape region of Citrusdal and Clanwilliam, an area about two hours northwest of Cape Town and also the Northern Cape from Kimberly and the Northwest areas near Upington.
“The rigorous inspection in South Africa and here in the U.S. assures the fruit meets and exceeds all regulations for import. It does not undergo any chemical application from a fumigation process that is known to shorten the shelf life and affects the taste of the fruit,” said van der Merwe.
South Africa is the second largest exporter of citrus in the world and produces 60 percent of all citrus being exported from the Southern Hemisphere.
Source: Western Cape Citrus Producers Forum
