The inclement weather of the past few weeks has curtailed the production of Navel and Valencia oranges in the Western Cape, prompting the Citrus Growers Association of Southern Africa (CGA) to slash its 2024 export projections.
Projected shipments of Navel oranges was revised down to 21-million 15kg cartons, marking a continued decline since May, when the initial estimate of 25.7-million cartons was lowered to 22-million cartons.
The latest revision represents a 19% reduction in estimated exports for the season. Late-season Navels are being packed and shipped as the winter season draws to a close. Last year, SA exported 24.8-million cartons of Navels and 52.1-million cartons of Valencias.
The Western Cape has been hit hard by droughts, floods and coastal erosion, which have a huge impact on communities and the environment. Most recently, French shipping and logistics company CMA CGM lost 44 containers due to bad weather off the province’s south coast.
“Inclement weather over the past two weeks has meant further reduction in predicted volumes,” said Orange Focus Group chair Stiaan Engelbrecht.
“The freezing cold in the Senwes region has meant that the Navel estimate in that region has been reduced by 600,000 cartons and the Valencia volumes by 1-million cartons. The Western Cape (Citrusdal) has been impacted by recent flooding and storms, while the Eastern Cape has been impacted by high winds.”
Harvesting of Valencia oranges is under way in growing areas of Limpopo and Mpumalanga, while growers in the Eastern Cape and Western Cape will begin packing initial volumes of Valencia oranges in the coming weeks.
SA is the world’s second-largest citrus exporter, behind Spain, according to the Observatory of Economic Complexity, which uses data from dozens of countries sourced directly from public customs records.
The latest estimate for exports of Valencia oranges from Southern African growers is now 51.6-million 15kg cartons, down from the May forecast of 56-million cartons. The estimate at the start of the season, in April, was 58-million cartons.
“This is a 11% reduction from the first estimate. The largest downward adjustments reflected in the latest review come out of Letsitele, Hoedspruit and the Senwes (Marble Hall and Groblersdal) areas, where the season’s production trends have already revealed itself. Marble Hall and Groblersdal were also hard hit by recent frost damage, further reducing production forecasts,” the CGA said in a statement.
“It is now clear that there will not be an oversupply of oranges this season. We are looking at a balanced market,” said CGA vice-chair Jan-Louis Pretorius, who farms citrus in Limpopo.
Pretorius said the adjusted figures tell the story of a unique season. First, drier and warmer conditions caused fruit sizes to be somewhat smaller. Second, a good local juicing price enticed growers to move more oranges to processing.
Over the past two-and-a-half weeks, adverse weather conditions posed significant challenges. The orange industry has not faced such tough conditions since the 2017 season when the Western Cape was hit by prolonged drought.
Pretorius said the extent of the costs associated with damaged infrastructure was still being assessed. Despite the challenges, consignments of oranges have been transported from Citrusdal via a private bridge on one of Mouton Citrus’s farms after the area was cut off due to the flooding. This initiative highlights the resilience of local businesses in adapting to adverse conditions and ensuring continuity in trade operations.
“The Port of Cape Town is back to efficient operation. Gerrit van der Merwe, chair of the CGA and a grower in Citrusdal, has praised the co-operation and resilience of the local community,” Pretorius said. “Citrus is now moving and disruption has been minimised. People are working hard and can catch up with the delays in about eight to nine days,” he said.
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