Growers in South Africa’s Orange River region have unanimously decided to join the Western Cape Citrus Producers’ Forum (WCCPF) after receiving the go-ahead to export their first-ever volume of citrus to the US this season.
Earlier this year, the USDA increased the number of areas in South Africa recognised as pest-free areas for citrus black spot disease, paving the way for Orange River suppliers to export grapefruit to the US.
Executives of the WCCPF recently visited the Orange River for discussions with local producers who subsequently decided to join the forum and jointly coordinate their shipping and distribution programme for the US.
This year’s citrus shipments to the US will for the first time include around 50,000 cartons of Star Ruby grapefruit and some Midknight Valencia oranges from the Orange River, according to WCCPF CEO Joretha Geldenhuys.
“We all agreed that we need to make sure of the success of our grapefruit programme to the US as this first season is very important to us,” Ms Geldenhuys told Fruitnet.com.
Ms Geldenhuys said the inclusion of Orange River-grown Midknight Valencia oranges will enable South Africa to offer Valencia oranges to customers in the US much earlier than in the past. “Crops in the Orange River are much earlier so this enhances our basket of products,” she explained.
With just over three weeks to go before the start of the season’s first significant shipments, the WCCPF has again stressed the need for discipline among growers to ensure that the products they deliver comply with the strict phytosanitary requirements of the US market.
“We will monitor deliveries very carefully during the first few weeks because they can play a crucial role in our efforts to reduce the sterilisation programme from 24 days to 22 days,” said Ms Geldenhuys.
She also advocated patience among growers in terms of allowing fruit to colour up fully on the trees before harvesting.
“There is still a large volume of Californian navels of excellent colour on the US market and this will continue into June. On the other hand, there is a good market for clementines at the moment.”
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