INCORPORATING COLD CHAIN
ASSOCIATIONS
CGA annual report now available
By Justin Chadwick, CEO of the Citrus Growers Association
At the end of August 2020, the CGA annual report was made available.
An extract from the CEO’s Report is given below.
A
word that is often used to describe
the citrus industry in southern Africa
is ‘resilient’. One definition of
resilience is “being able to withstand or
recover quickly from difficult conditions”.
When asking Google if resilience is a good
thing, the following response is elicited: “In
sum, there is no doubt that resilience is a
useful and highly adaptive trait, especially
in the face of traumatic events. However,
when taken too far, it may focus individuals
on impossible goals and make them
unnecessarily tolerant of unpleasant or
counterproductive circumstances.”
I wonder at times if the southern
African citrus industry is not too tolerant
of counterproductive circumstances.
A perfect example is the continued
phytosanitary requirements of some trading
partners. Despite overwhelming evidence
that these measures are without merit
and unnecessary, southern African citrus
industries continue to spend considerable
time and money to remain compliant.
The exemplary track record that South
Africa, Zimbabwe and Eswatini have in
terms of their phytosanitary compliance
is testament to the huge investment in
research, the adoption of research results
and the adaption to meet requirements.
The industry needs to resolve many
outstanding market access issues so as to
grow markets in line with the anticipated
increase in supply volumes.
This cannot be done alone – the relevant
government departments need to be
capacitated with competent officials, and
together we need to be agile, aggressive
and assertive in our bilateral discussions.
Compliance cannot be the only remedy –
unfair market access requirements need to
be challenged.
2019 will be remembered as a year
when the industry took a breather – with
a drop off in export volumes after years of
sustained growth. Climatic factors played
a role in this reduction, as did logistics
challenges. To return to the upward
trajectory in export volumes, South Africa
is going to need to improve its logistics
capabilities.
Large on-farm and packhouse
investment need to be matched by state
investment in roads, rail and ports. Durban
port runs the risk of losing its position as
investments elsewhere improving the
efficiency and accessibility of other
ports in the region. The citrus industry will
continue to work with logistics partners and
government to turn the situation around.
Citrus production, packing and
distribution is both technology and capital
intensive. This serves as a challenge to new
players in the industry. The CGA, Citrus
Academy and CGA Grower Development
Company provides support to these new
growers, breaking down the obstacles to
profitability and sustainability. Technical
experts provide extension services, business
analysts assist with business plans and
advice, while new projects are explored
to provide easier access to funding.
Training courses and workshops have been
introduced. The CGA is committed to
developing new entrants into the industry.
Grower support for the CGA was
conducted towards the end of the
year under review. Faced with ever
increasing research and technological
needs, growers have decided to
substantially increase their investment
in research and transformation. Well in
excess of 90% of respondents voted for
the CGA Board motivated levy increase.
This will now go through the necessary
process for government approval and
gazetting.
Fruit Logistica in February 2020 was
a harbinger of times to come – the hall
hosting Chinese companies was eerily
empty as they were not allowed to
travel. By end of March the impact of
the Covid-19 pandemic was becoming
evident back home as South Africa
entered total lockdown. This raises many
uncertainties for 2020.
The full annual report is available off the
the gateway to southern Africa – with reinforced in a levy referendum
CGA website. CLA
Table 1: Latest packed and shipped figures
Million 15 Kg Cartons to end
Original Latest Final
Packed Packed Packed Shipped Shipped
Week 33
Estimate Prediction Packed
SOURCE: PPECB/AgriHub 2018 2019 2020 2019 2020 2020 2020 2019
Grapefruit 19.4 m 16.7 m 15 m 14.2 m 13.9 m 16.7 m 15.1 m 16.1 m
Soft Citrus 14.3 m 16.1 m 20.7 m 13.9 m 18.3 m 23.3 m 23.5 m 18.3 m
Lemons 17.8 m 20.4 m 27.2 m 17.2 m 22.2 m 26.4 m 28.2 m 22.1 m
Navels 25.5 m 22.1 m 24.4 m 18.8 m 20.6 m 26.5 m 25.9 m 24.3 m
Valencia 28.3 m 26.9 m 35.3 m 18.4 m 24.1 m 50.4 m 49.2 m 46.8 m
Total 105.3 m 102.2 m 122.6 m 82.5 m 99.1 m 143.3 m 141.9 m 127.5 m
COLD LINK AFRICA • October 2020 www.coldlinkafrica.co.za 15