"Sizing generally seems to be larger and quality is looking good," according to Cobus van Graan from the company. "The benefit of the earlier start is that the South African lemon season should be extended, resulting in a more favourable supply/demand situation. The tail-end of Spanish and Turkish lemons are still evident in some of our target markets and I believe that this will finish over the next week or two."
The dreadful drought conditions in the northern citrus growing areas have been alleviated with good rainfall during the rainy season. In some areas the rainfall arrived later than normal and this might have an impact on the volumes but dam levels are back to normal and growers look forward to a “normal” year with regard to water supply.
"In general the fruit sizing shows a return to normal following the generally bigger grapefruit and Valencia sizing experienced during 2016 season," explains Cobus. "Fruit quality is looking exceptional this season and I expect that more volumes will find their way to the super-premium Far East markets."
"It is important to note that colour and phenological development on grapefruit is more advanced this year when compared to last year. This could mean that the season will start earlier and that supply to the market will be spread over a longer period. Given the promising fruit quality, combined with current request from Japan and China, I am confident that the South African grapefruit supply will result in an even fruit flow to all markets," states Cobus.
The Western Cape on the other hand is experiencing one of the driest years on record. Dam levels are at record lows, but the dry and sunny conditions will most likely result in fruit of exceptional quality, both in terms of cosmetics and internals.
Cobus said that it is still too early too speculate on the Valencia season, but early indications are that the volumes will be back to normal with above-normal potential quality.
Tango
FruitOne are excited by their first potential exports of Tango mandarins this season. "We have planted most of our Tango orchards in the earlier ripening areas and we are monitoring the advancing fruit colour and internals closely. As this will be our first exportable production, I am not 100% sure as to when we can expect our first fruit to be shipped, but it will be earlier than the current mandarin window. Fortunately the production and export of Tango mandarins are closely managed by a relatively small group of growers and exporters and this will aid in our cohesive marketing efforts to ensure the Tango market positioning and brand development."
For more information:
Cobus van GraanFruitOne
Tel: +27 (0) 21 8833447
E-mail: cobus@fruitone.com
http://fruitone.com/