Summer Citrus from South Africa's Suhanra Conradie Shares Citrus Season Update
CITRUSDAL, SOUTH AFRICA - Breaking records and raising the bar! These are the themes of Summer Citrus from South Africa’s (SCSA) latest production update, as the grower reported strong category demand and a formidable citrus program to back it.
“The Summer Citrus program is a unique model of collaboration connecting multiple service providers, starting with growers, exporters, bilateral entities, cold store facilities, shipping lines, logistical companies, importers, and the trade, to ensure the available supply meets the demand of the U.S. market,” shared Suhanra Conradie, Chief Executive Officer of SCSA. “For the group, sustained growth is a core objective.”
As the company reported in a recent release, the demand for citrus from South Africa has been growing, and the available supply of fruit has followed suit. SCSA’s last few seasons have shown sustained program growth of almost 2.5 times from 2019 to 2022.
“As we are now in our 25th season of shipping citrus to the U.S., the expansion of our total supply chain is another reason for us to celebrate,” Conradie continued. “We are in a good position to sustain the planned future growth of the program within the next three–five years. By adding the seasonal container port into Philadelphia along with our dedicated conventional vessel, we now have sufficient shipping opportunities. We have also expanded the cold storage facilities here in South Africa, focusing on the U.S. program to sustain our shipping plan.”
Earlier this season, the supplier loaded the largest container vessel its group has ever done; the supplier reached 250 40-foot containers with the MSC Mattina and achieved this again when it loaded the MSC Capucine in early August carrying 290 40-foot containers—equivalent to almost 6,000 pallets.
“For our group, successfully executing this number of loads requires a commitment and a focus on the U.S. program from all the service providers involved,” Conradie added.
The supplier’s season will soon conclude on the packing side, however, SCSA’s fruit will continue to arrive throughout October, with Navels, Easy Peelers, and Midknights.
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