Grapefruit
Grapefruit exports are expected to reach 12.4m cartons
(15kg), down by twenty-three percent from 2015’s
record export. Drought in the Letsitele and Onderberg
areas and severe hail damage in Hoedspruit are the
major factors behind the drop in volume, exacerbated
by the fact that 2016 was to be an “off” year anyway
in terms of the production cycle. Although fruit size
distribution will favour the smaller counts, Grapefruit
growers have indicated that they will continue to support initiatives which aim to respect the demands of
each of their markets in terms of timing, volume and
specification.
Lemons
Lemon exports from Southern Africa are expected to
continue its growth trend, with an increase of seven
percent estimated for 2016, translating into a total
volume of 16.1m cartons. Most of the growth can be
ascribed to new plantings coming into production,
particularly in the Sundays River Valley and Senwes
areas.
Soft Citrus
With many new orchards coming into production in
2016 soft citrus growers are expecting their total exports to grow by twelve percent to 11.2m cartons. The
season is predicted to offer good availability on the
bigger sizes and excellent eating quality from all regions.
"Whilst the drought that has gripped large parts of the
country has had a significant impact on the citrus export crop, it is clear that farmers prioritised their high
value varieties with the limited water they have had
available," said the spokesperson. "Some uncertainty as
to the onward impact of the drought on the 2017 crop
still exists, but with the arrival of late rain in the Northern areas and further evidence that the El Niño cycle
has been broken, the picture looks far more positive
now than a few weeks ago."
Against this backdrop, Southern African citrus growers
are cautiously optimistic about the prospects for the
2016 season and their continued ability to supply citrus fruits of the highest quality to discerning markets
around the globe.
Publication date: 3/23/2016
Copyright: www.freshplaza.com