CGA
The Citrus Growers Association has welcomed an announcement that a leading global shipping company has offered its services to export fruit from the ports in Durban and Gqeberha.
CEO, Justin Chadwick says Hapag-Lloyd's new service will be in operation by the end of May, in time for the bulk of the 2024 season's citrus, and run until September.
He says a study by the Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy in 2022 found that four out of five citrus growers made a loss, with extremely high shipping rates being a major contributing factor to the decrease in profitability.
Chadwick says recent shipping price spikes due to attacks on vessels in the Red Sea, as well as drought-related complications affecting the Panama Canal, have shown how exposed many fruit exporters are to increases in shipping rates.
"If all role-players work together in securing market access and more streamlined logistics, South Africa could very well increase its citrus exports with 20 million 15kg cartons of citrus in the coming season. It is our goal to export an additional 100 million cartons by 2032. Last year we exported 165.1 million cartons", he said.
