Citrus harvest in South Australia which started in late May, is currently is looking very good. It is even being showcased in gift packs. In South Africa, Valencia and navel focus group met and decided to further reduce the export estimate by 235,000 15kg cartons.
The Valencia export estimate is now 55,475,000 cartons, down from an estimate of just under 58 million cartons at the start of the season.
Fruit sizing is smaller than initially expected when excellent weather during blossoming and fruit set as well as good late summer rains in Northern provinces, seemed to indicate otherwise.
By the end of week 31 there was a difference of 10 million cartons between the amount of Valencias packed (21.3 million cartons) and those already shipped (11.7 million cartons) as a result of a week of packing lost to the cyber attack on Transnet Port Terminals.
It is expected that navels will end close to the original crop estimate of 26 million 15kg cartons. By the end of week 31, 18.6 million cartons of navels had been shipped.
However, Marketing Manager at the South Australian Produce Market, Penny Reidy, says “in South Australia, where we are the largest grower of citrus in Australia, we are having a fantastic crop in 2021. The cooler summer we had has resulted in vibrant colours and sweet tasting crops for the year.
‘’The country has had some challenges with labour, as has the rest of the world, however the growers here planned for the season and are getting plenty of produce to retailers.
“We regularly put together packs like this to showcase the new season produce in South Australia to encourage influencers to share with their audience what great pieces of produce they can find in their local store. It is a component of our overall marketing mix to promote and educate consumers about in-season, locally grown produce they can find at their local fruit and veg store.
“There is a great range of South Australian navel oranges, blood oranges, cara cara oranges, mandarins, lemons, grapefruit and tangelos on the market floor at the moment.”
Consumers are more conscious of immune boosting foods and citrus packs a Vitamin C punch. Penny said there has been good demand for citrus this season.
Over the last 18 months the various lockdowns in Australia have affected the wholesale markets but according to Penny the impact has been minimal in South Australia as they have only had two lockdowns to date.
Due to the logistical challenges involved in exporting Penny said they are finding that there is more fruit in the domestic market, which is why it is so important to educate consumers about in-season locally grown produce.
