Situated in the picturesque Sundays River Valley of the Eastern Cape is South Africa’s only producer and exporter of organic citrus fruit, juices and essential oils. Sundays Organic Growers Association (Soga) was formed in 2005 by four farmers who joined forces for research, packing, logistics and marketing to supply certified organic citrus products. The vision was to also supply South Africa's local market with the first certified organic citrus juice products – a healthy alternative to the sugar and preservative-loaded juices in the market today. In December 2015 SOGA Organic launched its first two frozen orange juice products in a handful of stores. Subsequently the company has added a new product every year and SOGA Organic products are now available in over 500 outlets nationwide.SOGA has also obtained organic certification from Control Union for the EU & USDA-NOP and has PPECB (Perishable Products Export Control Board) and BRCGS (Brand Reputable Compliance Global Standard) certificates.“We only process our own fruit to guarantee the highest quality, integrity and organic standards,” says SOGA Organic managing director Paul Marais. SOGA invested in its own juicing plant in 2012 and is fully backward and forward integrated, owning the entire supply chain from the trees in the ground to the finished product.According to marketing manager Lize Garrod, SOGA Organic exports around 2 000 metric tons of not-from-concentrate (NFC) citrus juice to Europe and Canada a nnua lly.The juice is stored in 200-litre galvanised steel drums and frozen to -18 degrees, according to Marais.All the juices have to be kept frozen because they contain no preservatives.All SOGA’s fresh lemons, oranges, ruby grapefruit and mandarins are exported to Europe and Canada, with Sundays River Citrus Company (SRCC) handling the packing and marketing. In 2019 SOGA Organic took what Garrod describes as a “quantum leap forward” by investing in IceGen slurry technology. “This enables us to be the first in Africa to offer pasteurised and unpasteurised NFC citrus juice,” she told Freight News. Little goes to waste as the company also produces SOGA Organic citrus oils as a by-product.Logistics challenges compound the trials and tribulations of exports from South Africa.High shipping rates (which spiked by up to 200% in 2022), make it more difficult to compete globally, says Garrod.Added to that is the inefficiency at South African ports. “The logistics crisis needs to be fixed urgently.”
