The South African citrus industry must find new markets for up to 10% of its exports. Therefore, South Africa's citrus industry is working hard to mitigate the impact that the Russian invasion of Ukraine has had on local citrus growers and exporters. On top of fruit destined for Russia being blocked and delays in fruit getting to the market, there have also been increases in input costs for growers and exporters because of the conflict.
As it stands, no fresh produce is being shipped to the region. Sources from the Citrus Growers' Association of Southern Africa (CGA) say this has been the case for the past few weeks with most countries. Early shipments of lemons destined for the Russian market have also been impacted.
When it comes to the Russian market, the country accounts for 7-10% of total South African citrus exports annually, with 11.2 million cartons of fruit having been exported to Russia in 2021. From a global perspective, Morocco, Turkey and Egypt all export significant quantities of citrus to Russia. The depreciation in the ruble will make imported fruit more expensive for the Russian consumer, while payments could be difficult due to restrictions on money flows. This increases the risk of exporting to Russia.
Source: foodformzansi.co.za