Citrus fruit

Areas of production

Citrus is grown in the Northern Province, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape and Western Cape where subtropical conditions, warm to hot summers and mild winters prevail. There are about 3 500 citrus growers who collectively manage more than 16 million trees. Orchard sizes vary from small (less than 100 trees) to estates with up to half a million trees.

Production

Oranges constitute about 67% of the total production of citrus fruit in South Africa. On average, citrus fruit production increased by 7% per annum between 1995/96 and 1999/2000. According to statistics from the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations), South Africa accounts for about 1,5% of the world production of citrus fruit and 13,5% of production in Africa.

Citrus production for the past five production seasons (1February–31January)

Marketing

The citrus industry is export orientated. Exports increased from 586 780 tons in 1995/96 to 786 031 tons in 1999/2000. During 1999/2000, about 498 038 tons of oranges, or 63,4% of the crop, were exported—0,3% less than the volume exported during 1998/99. Total exports of citrus fruit decreased owing to excessive rain during the 1999/2000 season hampering the spraying of orchards. This adversely affected fruit quality.

A certificate from the PPECB (Perishable Products Export Control Board) is needed and phytosanitary requirements and quality standards must be adhered to for the exportation of citrus fruit.  
During 1999/2000, about 12% of citrus production was sold on the fresh produce markets in South Africa, 11% was sold directly to retailers and 26,7% was taken in for processing. There has been a noticeable decrease in the prices of citrus fruit sold on the 16 fresh produce markets during 1999/2000 compared to 1998/99. The average prices realised during the period 1995/96 to 1999/2000 are as follows:  

Fruit type	1995/96	1996/97	1997/98 R/ton	1998/99	1999/2000
Oranges Grapefruit Lemons Naartjes Soft citrus	774 708 1 199 1 308 828	706 677 1 066 1 263 1 035	619 635 1 008 1 203  930	835 847 1 190 1 481 1 115	758 817 1 168 1 320  926

Processing

Approximately 27% of the total citrus fruit production was taken in for processing in 1999/2000. About 97% of citrus fruit taken in for processing was used for juices, 0,3% was canned and 2,3% was used for oil extraction. Over the past five years, citrus fruit taken in for processing showed an annual average growth of 16,6%, increasing from 157 535 tons in 1995/96 to 417 619 tons in 1999/2000.

Consumption

Per capita consumption of citrus fruit over the past five years is as follows:

Prospects

The citrus fruit crop is expected to increase by about 9% during the 1999/2000 season, which is considerably higher than the 5% increase of 1998/99.

Vegetables (excluding potatoes)

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