South Africa's citrus export season is picking up good steam, with volumes starting to increase after a somewhat slower start. For Sarel Joubert, Managing Director from the exporter In2Fruit, "the season is good, we are sending to all countries, that includes the UK, Europe, Canada, Russia and Asia."
He says lemon exports were difficult at the start of the South African season. "It was initially difficult for lemons, only later it became better. Earlier in the season, gaining colour on fruit was a challenge along with smaller sizes, which differed from region to region. We are now busy with Navels. The local juice prices look good, it is much better than in the past. More fruit is going towards juicing. Valencia's are also starting, generally it is looking positive for our South African citrus exports," states Joubert.
Importers and clients in Russia have, due to international sanctions following their war in Ukraine, switched to paying in other currencies. "In Russia, due to worldwide sanctions, they do not have enough Dollars and Euro's. They ask to pay in Chinese Yuan and in Swiss Franc. It also depends on and differs from client to client," explains Joubert.
He says In2Fruit is a smaller citrus exporter with contracted farms that grows citrus. "We export about 700,000 to 800,000 cartons of citrus from South Africa. We are not a big player in citrus exports, but we do serve different world markets. We are a bigger player in table grapes where we do have our own farms and also assist growers in managing farms," concludes Joubert.
For more information:
Sarel Joubert
In2Fruit
Tel: +27 (0) 82 886 7081
Email: [email protected]
www.in2fruit.co.za