Russian appetite for SA citrus grows

More than half of SA’s exports to Russia are citrus products, and with the Russian predilection for the product having proved recession-proof this year, volumes are expected to rise in future. “Citrus is by far the biggest single commodity exported to Russia. In 2008 export earnings from citrus to Russia were R265 million, and in 2009 R240 million – the next biggest (and only other commodity earning over R100 million) was manganese ore which earned R122 million and R135m in 2008 and 2009 respectively,” said Justin Chadwick, CEO of the Citrus Growers’ Association. Chadwick visited Russia last week to inspect its cold chain, and told FTW: “There is huge potential for more fruits in that market. The economy is going again, and there are keen appetites for South African citrus. Russia is the only market in the world where grapefruit exports from South Africa increased this year. 963 000 cartons were shipped this year, compared to 731 000 cartons in 2009.” Citrus sales rose across the board to Russia this year. 763 000 cartons of lemons went there in 2010, up from 689 000 in ‘09; 2m cartons of navel oranges from 1.4m last year, and 1.2 m cartons of Valencia oranges from 1m in’09. Chadwick said that SA orange imports used to dominate the Russian market, but the present “citrus variety mix of exports to Russia mirrors South Africa’s production mix – 59% Valencia, 16% navels, 9% lemons, 10% grapefruit and 6% soft citrus.” Citrus is shipped from all SA ports, though mostly from Durban. More volumes are leaving Maputo, and of late citrus shippers have found that one vessel per week sails from Maputo to Russia. “Citrus goes to Russia in two ways. Most goes to St Petersburg in bulk, and a lot goes to Northern Europe, and is trucked down from Rotterdam. If there is a shortage, they’ll order from Rotterdam,” Chadwick said. He said he was impressed by the cold chain infrastructure in Russia. “I went to some of the warehouses. They are pretty modern, and the fruit is all kept under cooling,” Chadwick said. However, the absence of refrigerated warehouses at the port of St Petersburg means citrus is immediately trucked to other destinations. This poses a problem if there are insufficient storage facilities upon arrival. “There is also the issue of payment. Sometimes it is delayed. But the fruit cannot be kept at St Petersburg until it is sorted out because there’s no place for cold storage,” Chadwick said.