South Africa: Good start on EU market expected for citrus

The citrus harvest is under way in some areas of South Africa. In the north around the Hoedspruit area, volumes of grapefruit will be down by as much as 2 million boxes due to hail last year and the prolonged drought.

Other citrus fruit has faired better though, the lemon harvest is underway and it is going very well according to growers. The volumes and quality are good and will most likely be much the same as last year. Sizing varies from area to area but it seems to lean more towards the larger sizes on average.

The harvest of early mandarins is just about to begin and growers are very exited about it, it does depend on the area but in the Groblersdal area it is looking positive.

It is still early days to predict the season according to the growers, maybe there will be a bit less in some areas, maybe the same as last year, but it is a case of wait and see. The introduction of many newly planted orchards into production will definitely help volumes.

The European market is expected to be good at the start as Spain and Egypt will be finishing early, But, as they say you can never be sure, "You don't always get what you expect."