SA doubles its citrus exports to the US in less than six years

Citrus exports for the Northern Hemisphere summer have kicked off, with a bumper crop of “sweet and delicious citrus” heading to the port of Philadelphia.

As the 2024 harvesting season begins, Summer Citrus from South Africa (SCSA) looks to follow a successful 2023 campaign – a year that marked 25 years of shipping citrus to the US.

SCSA highlighted the milestone as an “exciting time” for the industry, with shipments of South African citrus more than doubling since 2019.

“We are officially 25 years on the sunny side and commencing into our 26th season with a healthy crop of sweet and delicious citrus fruit headed to the port of Philadelphia in the coming days and more to come throughout the summer months,” Suhanra Conradie, CEO of SCSA told Fruitnet.

The citrus varieties being shipped

The first vessel of the season, the MSC Houston, is transporting the fruit from Cape Town to the US in the first week of June, with weekly shipments expected to continue until the end of October.

SCSA is starting the shipping season with clementines. This will be followed by Navel oranges and Star Ruby grapefruit.

Conradie noted the importance of recognising the hard work and commitment of the service providers who have helped the SCSA reach these heights.

“We are serving one of the world’s most demanding markets, and adapting to the current state of the supply chain on any given day is a key factor of our business model,” she added.

“We have gained much momentum with our collaborative approach and intend to keep it going in 2024.”

South Africa becomes leading naartjie supplier to America

Launched in the mid-2000s, the summer citrus campaign established South Africa as a leading supplier of oranges and naartjies to the US during the northern hemisphere summer.

Chairman of the South African Summer Citrus Association, Boet Mouton is feeling confident about the season ahead, emphasising the reliability of South African citrus.

“We expect a good, steady season delivering the products for which we have become known,” he said.

“Although our clementine and Navel crops are slightly less than anticipated, it will not affect our market supply.”

While South Africans tend to refer to anything that isn’t an orange, a naartjie, a naartjie is technically a type of mandarin.

The citrus industry anticipates significant increases in the Nadorcott/Tango mandarin categories, with volumes up 16 percent to 24.1 million cartons.

Leanri mandarins, a mid- to late-season variety, will contribute around 2.5 million cartons. Orri mandarins will add another 2 million cartons while other mandarin types will add a further 2.7 million cartons.