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Oranges, lemons, limes, grapefruits, mandarins, clementines, satsumas, mineolas, tangerines, kumquats.

Those are just some of the citrus types grown in South Africa, and according to the latest export numbers from the Citrus Growers Association of South Africa, it’s been a bumper past 12 months.

All told, the numbers from early February show it was a record-breaking export season, with 146 million cartons of fruit delivered to the rest of the world, of which a sizeable number came from the Western Cape.

Justin Chadwick, the CEO of the Citrus Growers Association of South Africa, spoke with Bizcommunity to put that into perspective:

“These figures indicate phenomenal growth within the South African citrus industry, which remains the second-largest exporter of fresh citrus in the world after Spain…

It is difficult to tangibly quantify the size and volume of the citrus exported last year, but if we were to stack 146 million cartons of fruit side-by-side, the line of cartons would span approximately 40 000 km in length.

That is equal to the height of 4.4 Mount Everests stacked one on top of the other.”

Almost 4,5 Everests on top of one another – that’s a serious citrus tower.

I would advise against such stacking, though, given that Woolies shoppers loathe buying an orange with even a single blemish visible.

That’s also why exporters use quality shipping logistics companies, like South African favourite Berry & Donaldson, to help them navigate the labyrinth that is international freighting from start to finish.

The citrus industry isn’t resting on its laurels, and projects that over the next three years, exports will increase by a further 300 000 tonnes.

Growth projections for soft citrus, lemons, and Valencia oranges alone indicate an expected additional R6,8bn in foreign exchange earnings, along with the creation of 22 250 sustainable jobs over the next three years.

Every single one of those jobs will be welcomed, especially when you consider the impact that COVID-19 has already had on job numbers, with Stats SA reporting that the unemployment rate increased to 32,5% in the fourth quarter of 2020.

That is the highest unemployment rate since 2008.

[source:bizcommunity]