"It’s a challenge to convince retailers to only display organic grapefruits on their shelves."
South African organic citrus season commences
The South African organic citrus season has started as off mid-April by harvesting the first organic Starruby grapefruits. OTC-Holland received the first load last week and is now distributing the organic Starruby grapefruits to its European customers. For OTC-Holland, this marks the start of its South African import season: after the weekly arrivals of the organic Starruby’s, organic lemons follow as off mid-May and oranges will follow as off mid-June.
"Our Starruby grapefruit originates from the Orange River area, near Kakamas and Augrabies, located in the northwest of South Africa. The availability of organic grapefruits is large and like every year we don’t succeed in selling the entire harvest as organic. It’s disappointing to see that a considerable part of organically grown fruit disappears at current prices to the Middle and Far East. Only a select group of European retailers sells the South African organic Starruby grapefruit on a larger scale. It remains a real challenge to convince retailers to only display organic grapefruits on their shelves, even for just one import season and at equal prices.”
The Starruby grapefruits will be followed by organic lemons from the Northern and Eastern Cape . Out continues: "We expect the first arrivals towards mid-May. However, the volumes – for both organic lemons and oranges - are currently under pressure, since more stringent checks are being carried out because of the 'black spot' disease. We estimate a loss in volume of 15-20% before the lemons have even reached our grading and washing line.”
OTC-Holland will receive South African organic oranges between June and October: starting off with Navels, followed by Midknights and ending the seasons with Valencia’s. "The price expectations for both lemons and oranges are good," says Out. "This is very important given the fact that labor, electricity and logistics set an increasing share of the cost price. The increase in wages for the South African workers combined with the increase in ocean freight rates result in a continuously rising cost price.
On a yearly basis, OTC-Holland imports 4,500 tons of certified organic citrus from South Africa. Out: “We closely cooperate with our suppliers on quality, planning and reliability in marketing the organic produce. In partnership with our suppliers we are able to guarantee deliveries of solid quality, in bulk or pre-packed. During our South African organic citrus season, we supply specialized wholesalers and several retailers in Europe directly with our packed citrus products."
For more information:
Edward Out
OTC Holland
Tel: +31 (0)320 289 031
[email protected]
www.otcholland.com
