South African Grapefruit Exports Down in First Five Months of 2022

Published 2022년 6월 14일

South Africa’s year-to-date grapefruit exports are down by 33% at the end of May 2022. Record high freight rates and access issues to the Russian market due to the conflict in Ukraine are contributing to decreased export volumes. Packing and exporting for the Chinese market have also stalled due to China’s strict enforcement of its zero-COVID border control policies which makes market access difficult. It is predicted that export volumes of grapefruit will continue to trend below previous seasons for the remainder of 2022 with total export volumes coming in lower than in previous years at the conclusion of harvest.

South Africa is in its peak grapefruit supply weeks at the end of May and the start of June. The peak of the 2022 harvest season is later and flatter than prior seasons due to a combination of weather-related disruptions and the careful management of packing and export volumes by the three major production regions. Grapefruit growers in Letsitele, Hoedspruit, and Onderberg, who jointly produce almost 75% of South Africa’s grapefruit, launched a campaign to monitor and report their weekly packing data to carefully manage the packing and export volumes. Every week packing data is collected from all packhouses, consolidated, and shared to improve decision-making, not only to extend the grapefruit season but also to manage the pressure that traditionally builds in the port of Durban during the peak season.

The campaign appears to be working well as year-to-date exports of class 1 and 2 grapefruit are down by 33% at the end of May 2022, largely due to the management of packing volumes. However, China and Russia, two of South Africa’s major grapefruit export destinations, are nearly inaccessible during the 2022 season. Together China and Russia accounted for 34.35% of South Africa’s total grapefruit export volumes in 2021. Lack of access to these two markets during the 2022 season is further contributing to depressed export volumes.

Figure 1: South African Grapefruit Export Volumes to Top 5 Markets 2017-2021

Source: TradeMap

Large grapefruit that were viable for export to the Russian market in the past are not being exported in the 2022 season due to extremely high shipping rates and access issues to the Russian market due to the conflict in Ukraine. During the 2022 season, large grapefruits (count 28s, 32s) are sent directly to local juicing facilities instead of the packhouse. In 2021, South Africa exported 22,127mt of grapefruit to Russia accounting for 7.61% of total exports, making Russia the fourth largest export market. In previous seasons, roughly 70% of the fruit that was run across the packing line was put in a carton and exported. However, in 2022, only about 40% of grapefruit that entered a packhouse were exported due to the lack of market access to Russia for large grapefruit.

The outbreak of COVID-19 in China in mid-February 2022 along with renewed lockdowns restrictions and enforcement of China’s strict border control policies have come at an extremely unfavourable point in the South African citrus calendar, especially for grapefruit. China is South Africa’s largest export market for grapefruit, taking 77,707mt in 2021 making up 26.74% of total export volume. The majority of packhouses have stopped packing grapefruit for the Chinese market until the lockdown is lifted. There is some South African grapefruit on the Chinese market but it’s moving very slowly.

In Europe, the grapefruit market is somewhat subdued but stable. The Netherlands is the second-largest market for South African grapefruit importing 73,231mt in 2021 accounting for 25.20% of total export volume. The Japanese market is the third largest and is also functioning normally, taking 30,029mt in 2021 or 10.33% of total export volume. It is predicted that export volumes of grapefruit will continue to trend below previous seasons for the remainder of 2022 with total export volumes coming in lower than in previous years at the conclusion of harvest.