South Africa is gearing up to start a fresh citrus season. “We enter the 25th anniversary of shipping citrus into the United States,” says Suhanra Conradie from Summer Citrus from South Africa (SCSA). When the program was first introduced to the program in 1999 approximately 40,000 containers were delivered towards the US market. Last year, this number was up to 6.7 million boxes.

“Our principal aim has always been to maintain a steady growth rate,” said Conradie. “However this real expansion began in 2020 when the outbreak made consumers conscious of the necessity of an enriched diet with vitamin C to increase immune system.” Additionally the production of simple peelers, such as mandarins and clementines is on the rise recent. In the wake of increased supply and greater consumer demand, this program has increased by nearly 2.5 times since the beginning of 2019.

Volume estimate

Although the program has seen substantial growth over the last three years Conradie has reservations about the volume of shipping this year because of the challenges that plague this supply chain. “Inflation is a major issue, and manufacturing and supply costs are rising, making it difficult to become financially long-term sustainable,” she said. Additionally, South Africa has an added problem of load shifting. “The energy issue has been in the news since 2011 , and although it wasn’t a major issue prior to the pandemic however, the situation has gotten more severe in the last 2 years.” The farmers have plans for contingency that involve the use of solar panels, generators and windmills. However, those backup solutions can result in additional costs.

In light of the challenges facing us today, Conradie estimates +/100,000-100,000 pallets of citrus are expected to be shipped out into the US in the coming season. That will be an increase over last year’s. “The US is an important market for South African growers, but it is a complex supply chain in order to handle the kind of volume. So, we are at ease with a slightly lower forecast for this period.” South African citrus will begin entering the US market in small quantities beginning in the third week in May. Then, the volumes are expected to increase gradually to the end of June until they hit their peak. Clementines will be the very first category that will be introduced to the US market.

Important role of vessels of the conventional type and containers

Conventional vessels as well as containers are utilized to transport citrus fruits in South Africa to the US. “We have two options in order to effectively execute this programme,” mentioned Conradie. This year, a record number of 17 traditional vessels were able to reach Philadelphia, PA and the appeal of the dedicated conventional vessel is the flexibility they provide. “The time and the availability of the fruits, in conjunction with the needs from the market, will determine the time of loading and the date of arrival. Directly working with shipping companies lets us be in control of our whole distribution chain.”

A record number of vessels that were conventional traveled through in the past year, the outlook was not as favorable in the case of container ships. “There were no ports for container vessels to visit to Philadelphia in the last time and this made the implementation of the plan extremely difficult,” said Conradie. Positively, Conradie is confident that containers shipments to Philadelphia are expected to get to where they need to be this season. “A combination of traditional vessels as well as container shipping is sure to provide long-term sustainable transportation options to America.” US.”

Differentiate

“We differ from the other organizations by sharing details we communicate with our service suppliers.” The information on shipping amounts and predicted weekly flow of fruit helps exporters and importers to run their operations for the US efficiently. If you want to stay informed about Summer Citrus from South Africa join the newsletter for trade by clicking here. “Due to the great cooperation between every service provider We have developed the most sophisticated supply chain that allows us to basing our production on the needs from the marketplace. This means that the retailers are able to count on adequate supply throughout the year. When things across the world became a mess We continued to ship according to a strict schedule.”

Patrick Kelly, Suhanra Conradie Patrick Kelly, Suhanra conradie, as well as Megan Zweig. Image credit: Jihoon Kim of Creative Vibez Only.

Viva Fresh Expo

Conradie recently came back from a trip in America. United States where she attended Viva Fresh Expo in Texas. “It was the ideal time to have a meeting to the US service providers and talk about the forthcoming period,” she explained. “Summer citrus from South Africa is a program which retailers can count on throughout the summer season to provide fresh fruit regularly and satisfy the customers,” said Megan Zweig from DMA Solutions. “Not just is the fruit good quality and extremely sweet, but the SCSA networks of import partners is eager to ensure that they have enough that will be shipped out of South Africa to the US beginning in late May through September.” Patrick Kelly of The Produce Industry Podcast added “with Summer Citrus on the coming and with the expectation of the consumers who want every year, I’m excited to be able to see citrus arrive in the shops of the US in the coming season. I’m looking forward to an enjoyable sweet treat.”

“We are in the process of getting ready to service the largest market in the world as we celebrate our 25th year of shipping our citrus into America,” said Conradie. US,” finished Conradie.

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Suhanra Conradie

Summer Citrus is from South Africa

suhanra@summercitrus.com

www.summercitrus.com