Workers harvest fruit in the Eastern Cape. Picture: DAILY DISPATCH
The boom is expected to continue. Within the next five years SA citrus growers are expected to be exporting 200-million cartons of fruit to key markets worldwide annually, an increase of 54-million cartons from the 2020 total. But the EU has the potential to import an additional 80,000 tonnes of SA lemons and soft citrus by 2024, generating R1bn in extra export revenue and creating 4,000 new job opportunities. However, expansion in this key market is threatened by the EU’s protectionist import measures regarding citrus black spot , which have been imposed on local growers.CBS is a fungal disease that can be transmitted through the movement of infected plant material.
Due to a number of unforeseen events — including heavy rains at the start of the year, the unrest in KwaZulu-Natal in July and the cyberattack against the Transnet ports authority in which the state entity declared force majeure — the number of CBS interceptions has increased during the 2021 season. However, the 26 cases are still a drop in the ocean compared with the millions of cartons SA exports.