South African Summer Citrus Shipments Jump 24 Percent

Philadelphia, Pa, October 26, 2010 – The last vessel carrying South African summer citrus (www.summercitrus.com ) for the 2010 season has discharged its cargo. The fruit is now in transit to supermarkets across the U.S.

A total of 41,528 tons of citrus, including Clementines, navel oranges, Midknight oranges and grapefruit, was shipped to the U.S. from May through October. This is a nearly 24 percent increase over the amount of citrus shipped in 2009.

This season, the U.S. market received 8,935 tons of Clementines, a 29.3 percent increase over 2009; 24,629 tons of navel oranges and 7,721 tons of Midknight oranges, a 21.90 percent increase in total oranges;, and 232 tons of grapefruit. This was the first year of South African grapefruit shipments to the U.S.

“Consumer demand for South African Summer Citrus continues to grow,” says Gerrit van der Merwe, chairman of the Western Cape Citrus Producers Forum (WCCPF). “Year over year, we ship more to the U.S. and consumers here have made it clear that they like South African citrus in the summer. When it is available to them in the supermarkets, they will buy it.” South African citrus will be available in stores through early to mid November.

The WCCPF made adjustments to its supply chain in 2010. For the first time, smaller reefer vessels were contracted to carry the fruit to the U.S. While smaller, these vessels brought fruit to the market every 10 days as compared to previous seasons when larger ships would arrive only every two weeks.

“Both importers and retailers have found this more regular arrival of fruit beneficial to their category management,” said van der Merwe. “The schedule provides a continuous and reliable supply so importers and retailers know what citrus will be available to them for sale.”

WCCPF moved less fruit that expected to the west coast during 2010. “Un-characteristically, the California citrus season lasted much later than usual. As a result, the west coast marketplace was able to carry California fruit far into the summer,” said van der Merwe. “Our plan is to move more fruit to the west in 2011.”

South African citrus exports to the U.S. began in1999. All citrus bound for the U.S. from South Africa undergoes USDA inspections to ensure compliance with U.S. regulations. South Africa is the second largest exporter of citrus in the world and produces 60 percent of all citrus grown in the Southern Hemisphere. Fruit bound for U.S. consumers comes mostly from the region near Citrusdal and Clanwilliam about two hours northwest of Cape Town, the Northern Cape near Kimberly and the northwest along the Orange River, near Upington.

The WCCPF is a consortium of some 300 South African growers eligible to export summer citrus to the U.S.

Source: Western Cape Citrus Producers Forum