SOUTH AFRICA - Summer Citrus from South Africa (SCSA) is now in the middle of its season and reports a positive outlook. Chief Executive Officer Suhanra Conradie divulged the details in a recent newsletter from SCSA.
“We have now entered into our mid-season period, and things are going very well! Although we were off to a really late start, we gained some great momentum over the last few weeks, and in terms of volume, we are slightly ahead of what we originally planned for the season,” Suhanra wrote. “Of course, this is quite typical for the perishable nature of our business, and we allow some room in our planning for the additional demand of the market. This aligns with our goal to grow the business responsibly and sustainably in the U.S.”
SCSA entered the United States market toward the end of May with a few containers on the MSC Lorena, according to the newsletter. Since around the 3rd week of June, SCSA has coordinated weekly arrivals of either dedicated conventional vessels or container vessels, and some weeks even both. The majority of its fruit is being shipped to the port of Philadelphia.
SCSA reports that it has loaded a solid amount of Easy Peelers—primarily Clementines and Navels. Additionally, the supplier’s citrus program consists of Star Ruby grapefruit, Cara Caras, and lemons.
“For the month of July, we will continue to load some Easy Peelers, as the later Mandarin varieties could start, but this really depends on the maturity of the fruit,” Suhanra stated. “We will also continue to load Navels, Star Ruby, and Cara-Cara. Overall, from a production side, the crop and quality of the fruit are really looking good.”
On a final note, Suhanra addressed the tariffs between the U.S. and South Africa.
“From our side, we are invested in the U.S. market and together with our loyal partners and service providers, we are committed to executing this program with excellence and continued success for all parties involved. We have worked very hard to establish ourselves as the preferred supplier of citrus to the U.S. during the summer months to complement local citrus production when otherwise unavailable,” she said. “We have also prioritized weekly arrivals of fresh fruit into the U.S. market, which did not happen overnight or with the snap of a finger! We are focused on a successful and sustainable business for the long term for all who are working to make this happen.”
We will continue to keep an eye out for SCSA updates, so stay tuned.
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Summer Citrus from South Africa
Summer Citrus from South Africa represents a group of 230 South African citrus growers who consolidate their logistics,…
