Summer Citrus from South Africa has good supplies of citrus with fruit mainly arriving on the East Coast and some expected volumes to make their way to the Midwest and Southern states later this season. Suhanra Conradie, CEO of Summer Citrus from South Africa says the arrival of its first conventional vessel has traditionally been a big celebration and something it hoped to return to this season.
“I'm happy to share that after two years, we finally had the opportunity to toast to the first vessel's arrival in Philadelphia,” says Conradie. “You will see SCSA-grown products at the importers’ repacking facilities and see first-hand from our loyal U.S. service providers and importers as they elaborate on our unique business model and collaboration.”
By the end of week 28, Summer Citrus from South Africa has packed 55 percent of the 2022 crop. In all, 45 percent of it has shipped in the form of seven conventional vessels plus containers. The majority of the 9,000 pallets in these containers will arrive in New York, with one vessel making a stop in Packer Avenue, Pennsylvania and a number of containers planned to reach Savannah, Georgia and Houston, Texas.
“This past week, we discharged the largest conventional vessel our group has ever shipped, accounting for 7,500 pallets,” says Conradie. “For the remainder of the season, we will continue to send weekly conventional vessels and containers in between to meet the demand of the market. In terms of shipped volumes, our fruit basket offers 47 percent Easy Peelers, 42 percent Navel Oranges, 8 percent Star Ruby and 3 percent Cara-Cara.”
