South African grapefruit suffers the same fate as other citrus fruits

Published Nov 6, 2024

Tridge summary

The Citrus Growers' Association of Southern Africa (CGA) projected a 14% increase in grapefruit packing to 14.8 million cartons in 2024, thanks to recovery from drought in northern regions. However, the actual packed volume was 12.7 million cartons, a 14% decrease, due to issues like smaller fruit size and color development problems. The European Union, China, Russia, and the United States are the top markets for South African grapefruit. China's imports have risen to 36,000 tonnes in 2024, and Russia's have increased to 22,000 tons, surpassing Japan.

Disclaimer: The above summary was generated by Tridge's proprietary AI model for informational purposes.

Original content

In mid-March, the Citrus Growers' Association of Southern Africa (CGA) estimated that 14.8 million cartons of grapefruit would be packed, 14% higher than the previous year's figure of 13.0 million cartons. At the time, it was reported that this was due to the recovery of northern areas affected by drought in previous years. The March estimate also anticipated that the crop would be similar to that of the 2022 season. The estimated volumes for 2024 included the volumes available for processing. But, the packed volume was 12.7 million cartons, almost 14% below the estimate, a reduction caused by a series of unforeseen factors, such as smaller fruit size, color development problems and favorable local juice prices, detailed the latest CGA report, 'From the Desk of the CEO'. The largest region, Letsitele, totalled 4 million cartons, 20% below forecast; Hoedspruit, with 3.3 million cartons, had a 12% drop; while Onderberg, with 1.6 million, experienced a 16% drop. Red grapefruits ...

Source: MXfruit