High demand for citrus fruits from UK and Europe

Rains are expected to continue in the Western and Eastern Cape, South Africa. Meanwhile, snow fell in the Western and Eastern Capes.

“Given recent rainfall and increased soil moisture in parts of the Western and Eastern Cape, intermittent torrential rains could increase the chance of flooding,” the South African Meteorological Service noted in a recent press release.

Rain clouds over the mountains of Poland

In the Western Cape, the rain will have a rather severe effect on the tangerines still hanging from the trees. It was very early season: in Boland some producers have already run out of clementines, but in Citrusdal there are still clementines hanging around waiting for color to develop.

The impending rains are putting pressure on mandarin exports in the Western Cape.

Rain limits availability
Citrus fruits are grown in South Africa in a large geographical area, with quite different climates, but despite this, the autumn rains in South Africa were so heavy – both in the summer rains and in the winter rains – that my source Citrus They tell FreshPlaza it’s not easy to find enough fruit.

“With all the rains we’ve had lately, I am unable to fulfill all my requests,” says an exporter. “Usually, if I can’t get fruit from one area, I can go from one area to another, from Limpopo to KwaZulu-Natal, to the Eastern Cape and finally to Western Cape to meet orders with ships moving from Durban to Port Elizabeth and Cape Town, but this year there have been rains in every area, slowing down harvests.”

Everyone is short of fruit, everyone has missed their harvest days because of the rains, and now more heavy rains are expected which may also rule out much of the citrus harvest, which is scheduled for next week.

Western Cape growers grow their fruits in an area not affected by citrus black spot, which means that both Europe and the United States are viable markets for them.

The cold spring in Europe and the United Kingdom stimulated the demand for citrus fruits. “Customers in Europe and the UK are asking for fruit,” says a trader. “Spain is practically over and there are record prices for oranges from Egypt. We realize we don’t have enough fruit to cover the next part of the season.”

Cape Town harbor in the rain

Mitchell Brooke of the Citrus Growers Association sees a positive in the dark cloud that has brought so much rain to South Africa.

The organization’s latest newsletter read: “Recently, heavy rains have fallen in the region [del Capo Orientale] It may cause production to decline for a short period, allowing the logistics system to recover after some constraints due to overproduction and rain-related disruptions.”