The South African citrus industry has warned that there is simply not enough reefer containers being manufactured to meet future demand and has warned of shortages during the next few years.
The growth of South African citrus exports could reach 110m cartons or around 1.4m pallets during the next five years which also means that much work needs to be done to open new markets. "This means that we will have to market an additional 20m cartons at some stage during the next few years," said Justin Chadwick of the Citrus Grower's Association.
An even more frightening scenario is that there will not be enough reefer containers available to move these volumes. The CGA's logistics expert, Mitchell Brooke, says if all four of the South African citrus categories peak at the same time in one season, the level of 1.4m pallets could be reached. "When this will happen, we do not know but it is facing us sometime in the future," Mr Brooke says.
He says statistics show the manufacturing of reefer containers dropped to very low levels during 2009 and although it is picking up this year, it is nowhere near the levels required to sustain demand in the years ahead. There is pressure on availability from June until September and this falls directly in the peak shipping period of the biggest South African citrus category, valencia oranges.
For a full report on the container shortage, see the July/August edition of Asiafruit Magazine
No comments yet