Hajj in Saudi Arabia will start in less than a week and will be celebrated from 07 July – 12 July. Market trends have shown an increase in price levels for oranges, lemons, and pome fruit pre-Hajj sales.

High volumes of Egyptian valencias are being taken out of cold stores this week in Saudi Arabia for pre-Hajj sales and for sales during Hajj.

• Citrus
• Pome
• Grape, Stone & Kiwi Fruit
• India & Bangladesh
• PPECB Statistics

South Africa is set for record citrus exports of 2.7 million tons in 2021/22 due to favourable weather conditions, new areas under production, and higher demand in certain markets. However, logistical challenges are still playing a critical role with strains on global container shipping and carriers with limited shipping opportunities and space constraints in all markets, making it very difficult to get the fruit shipped on time. This is creating a gap in supply in all markets. Cold stores in South Africa are continually full due to these ongoing logistical challenges.

The packing of Late Navels varieties and Nadorcott mandarins have started and should continue until mid to end of August.

Argentina will harvest almost 2 million tons of lemons this season.  The ongoing concern of exporting lemons to all markets is the increase in freight costs and space availability on all shipping lines.

Market update

There has been an increase in the market demand and sales prices on navels, valencias, and lemons in Saudi Arabia due to pre-Hajj sales. However, there has been a decrease in the price of Novas and Mandarins from South Africa.

There has been a decrease of 32% in oranges, 13% in lemons, and 2% in Soft Citrus shipped YTD from South Africa to the Middle East.

Update on Kiwi Fruit and a market update in the GCC countries

Zespri Kiwi fruit from New Zealand reported that they had a slightly lower crop this season compared to last season.

Chile has exported 77,656 tons of kiwi so far this season with Europe being the main destination with a 33% share of total exports. The Middle East has received 6% of all shipments (4,363 tons).

The Hayward is the main variety exported accounting for 95% of the total.

India

Pricing on pears is not increasing but the good news is that the stock is at least starting to move. Most SA Packhams have no legs and are turning yellow quickly. Volumes of pears shipped from SA have reduced and this should help the movement and eventually the pricing.

Bangladesh

The bad news for Bangladesh importers just keeps getting worse. Import duties up by 20%, Currency devalued by 10%, and excessively high freight rates. Fruit is just becoming unaffordable and the SA growers cannot drop their prices more as they are already staring bankruptcy in the face.