The South African citrus season in full swing. According citrus exporter Rob Gunning, from Lona, the harvest is bigger than normal and quality is much better but sizes are smaller. He says the Middle East market is looking good this year, "it's not too bad, better than last year and better than other markets, they also prefer the smaller sizes. The soft citrus, easy peelers and grape fruit are popular here."
According to Rob the UK market is a bit flat, volumes are consistent with a drop off of around 2% compared with last year, prices remain the same as last year. There is a slight increase on Lona's exports to Canada with the price again remaining the same.
Rob sees Asia as a rising market especially China and India, the most popular citrus here are Navel late, Midknights and Novas.
Another South African citrus exporter, Gerrit van der Merwe from ALG Boerdery, there is good demand for clementines, grapefruit and lemons, but the shift to the later easy peelers varieties is noticeable. The price of the clementines and lemons on the European market is above $10 per box.
ALG Boerdery normally exports to the United States, EU, Russia and the Middle East. This year, however, around 25% more citrus is going to the supermarkets in the U.S., through an export program from South African Summer Citrus. This is due to better quality in South African fruit and also a strong dollar.