Philadelphia, Pa. – South African Midknight Oranges are in such high demand by importers and retail stores across the U.S. that special arrangements had to be made to discharge the vessel in off hours. www.summercitrus.com
Working with the shipping partner Seatrade as well as the Holt Terminal in Gloucester City, N.J., the vessel, Cool Express, was discharged over a weekend to enable the product to be received as soon as achievable on grocery shelves.
“Our importers told us that the stores wanted and needed the fruit as soon as we could get it to them,” said Suhanra Conradie, CEO of the Western Cape Citrus Producers Forum (WCCPF). “Fortunately, two more vessels are due in from South Africa in the next two weeks so product will be available to consumers well into November.”
The Midknight Orange is a Valencia varietal and is a particularly coveted fruit. Known for its excellent eating quality, it is smaller than a typical Navel orange, is seedless, very juicy and sweet, and has an appealing texture and taste. Typically, it is the last product of the South African Summer Citrus season.
“This orange becomes the last taste of South Africa each season for U.S. consumers and this year, the fruit looks very good,” said Conradie. “It promises an excellent memory from a good season of South African Summer Citrus and gives consumers something to look forward to when the season begins next June.”
Since 1999, shipments of South African summer citrus fruits have increased from 50 tons to about 40,000 tons expected this year. Exports include Clementines, Navel oranges, Midknights and Star Ruby grapefruit.
The Western Cape Citrus Producers Forum (WCCPF) is a consortium of about 350 South African growers approved to export summer citrus to the U.S. Next to Spain, South Africa is the second largest exporter of citrus in the world, producing 60 percent of all citrus fruits grown in the Southern Hemisphere. The South African citrus sold in the United States comes primarily from the region near Citrusdal about two hours northwest of Cape Town, the Northern Cape near Kimberly, and the northwest along the Orange River, near Upington.
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Source: Western Cape Citrus Producers Forum