South Africa’s 2023 Citrus Export Projections

Following a difficult 2022 citrus campaign, the Citrus Growers Association has published the 2023 citrus projections for South Africa. As for lemons, it is projected at 37.3M (15kg) cartons, an increase of 2.6M cartons compared to 2022. As of March 2023, more than 800,000 cartons of lemons have been shipped, an increase of 200,000 cartons compared to the same period in 2022. 

As for navels, the export projection is lowered by 2.5M cartons (15kg) during the 2023 season. This is due to producers in some regions opting not to export during the 2023 season. Inclement weather conditions have also hampered production, with recent hail storms in the Western Cape region reducing volumes from the region.

As for Valencias, exports are estimated at 54.5M (15kg) cartons for the 2023 season, equating to a 700K increase from the 53.8M cartons shipped last season. Good weather conditions in a number of regions have resulted in the predicted increase in production levels.

Lastly, for grapefruit, exports are estimated at 12.7M (17kg) cartons during the upcoming season, which is a 2.1M decrease when compared to 2022. One of the reasons for the drop in predicted numbers is that many regions are not planning to pack class 2 and fruit for processing purposes (PP).