By Eamonn Ryan
The Citrus Growers’ Association (CGA) Citrus Marketing Forum’s June session offered a comprehensive overview of South Africa’s citrus export season, highlighting key market trends, logistical hurdles, and evolving regulatory landscapes for grapefruit, lemons, mandarins, and oranges. This is Part 2 of a two-part series.
Regulatory and logistical challenges
EU phytosanitary certificates (PUCs): While strikes on individual orchards now only sanction that specific orchard (a positive change), the EU insists that all fruit already on the water from a struck orchard is considered contaminated and rejected.
Spain-specific rules: Spain presents a unique challenge, inspecting each individual orchard within a container (potentially 800 fruits for four orchards in one container, instead of 200 for the whole). Critically, Spain does not allow splitting or discharge of non-compliant fruit; the entire container is returned. Exporters are advised to avoid mixing orchards on single pallets and limit orchard numbers per container.
Logistical issues: Recurring problems include incorrect labelling for target markets (e.g., Russian labels on EU containers) and significant port congestion in the UK, causing vessel diversions and last-minute ETA changes. Port congestion at Sean (Durban’s Pier 1) due to concentrated, high-volume arrivals from single vessels is also a major concern, historically costing the industry millions.
US tariff uncertainty: The US tariff situation remains dynamic. The consensus indicates that fruit sealed and loaded in South Africa one minute before midnight on July 8th will be subject to the existing 10% tariff upon arrival in the US. However, uncertainty surrounds a potential 30% unilateral tariff. The CGA believes the US administration lacks the capacity to apply varied tariffs to many countries simultaneously, suggesting a likely extension of the 10% tariff for another three months. The hope is that South Africa will ultimately fall into a “pro-American camp” to maintain the lower tariff.
Concluding thoughts: collaboration and risk management
The forum concluded with a strong emphasis on the value of such mid-season conversations, providing crucial insights for risk management – both in terms of destination and handling of the product. The critical lesson of “not mixing orchards on one pallet” was reiterated. The UK port congestion was noted as a persistent challenge for the season.
The discussion wrapped up with a final reiteration that the complex web of market dynamics, logistical hurdles, and regulatory intricacies characterise the global citrus trade. The shared insights underscored the vital importance of real-time information, strategic planning, and continued collaboration within the industry to navigate the season successfully. The CGA confirmed that no official communication had been received from the Department of Trade regarding the tariffs, highlighting the industry’s reliance on its own networks for direct information from the US side. The meeting ended on time, with thanks to all participants for their valuable contributions to navigating the season.