Lemons

They say 60 is the new 50 and as San Miguel enters its seventh decade it shows no signs of slowing down.

In fact, says commercial director Alejandro Moralejo, the company is in a state of almost constant renewal. Having expanded its production base in Uruguay and South Africa over the past three years, the company has decided to overhaul its corporate image with the introduction of a revamped logo with the tagline ‘Global Citrus Expert’ – a clear signal of its progression from Argentine lemon market to leading supplier of counter-seasonal citrus.

By the end of 2014 it had 1,400ha under production in Uruguay and South Africa. “Our Uruguayan subsidiary Milagro has been renamed San Miguel, bringing it in line with the rest of the group,” Moralejo explains, adding that it has also recently entered into a joint venture with Uruguay’s biggest citrus processor, Novacore.

Moralejo characterises 2014 as a year of “ups and down”, not least due to the challenges of having to deal with a 60 per cent drop in lemon production in Argentina as a result of frost. “Fortunately, our diverse sourcing strategy came into play and we were able to make up some of the shortfall with fruit from Uruguay and South Africa, minimising the problem for our customers,” he explains.

Last year marked the company’s second season shipping Uruguayan citrus to the US and Moralejo says good results were achieved across all orange and easy peeler varieties. The company will beef up its Uruguayan offer with the introduction of the first commercial volumes of Moria, a late season seedless mandarin developed by Israeli breeders, which has shown excellent potential thanks to its exceptionally sweet flavour. Production of Nadorcott –another late season variety that has been well received by the market – is expected to top the 1,000 tonne mark as planted area continues to grow.

In South Africa meanwhile, 2015 will see the first shipments of two late Navel varieties, Cambria and Witkrans, and an increase in production of M7 early Navels, all of which are helping the company to significantly extend its marketing window. In fact, says Moralejo, strategic agreements with a number of key Southern Hemisphere producers will enable San Miguel to start shipping mandarins from early February.

“Innovation is at the heart of everything we do,” he says. “Bringing a new variety to market is a drawn out and expensive process, yet we are currently trialling 14 new varieties to see which can best be adapted to local growing conditions. We are also at the forefront of the industry when it comes to supplying retailers with products with the lowest possible MRLs, or that haven’t been subjected to any post-harvest treatments.”

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