Vanguard International is pleased to share an update on its South African citrus. While currently in the midst of harvesting and packing season, our team is looking forward to promising weather over the next week where our crops are located, with temperatures nice and stable in all production areas.

Grapefruit
The majority of remaining Grapefruit volumes were packed last week with a slight decrease (28%) from last year which is reflected across all citrus varieties compared to 2018 numbers. The decline in Grapefruit this season is across the board for growers, including those who have already finished off the season.

Navel Oranges
Early Navels are finished for 2019 with an estimated 25.7 million cartons expected to ship. Some of the varieties like Witkranz and Cambria will be harvested over the next week or so. Brix on these varieties is between 9 and 11% with acids between 0.65 and 1% and much larger in size.

Valencia Oranges
It has been a slower start to the season for Vanguard’s Turkey Vals with volumes expected to increase significantly this week as our teams wait for colour change and export volumes to be ready for packing. The brix measurement of flavor and sweetness will be around 10-13%. The internal sugar to acid ratio which determines flavour, will be slightly below normal in measurement. There are still 51 million cartons to come. The season will be much shorter than last year, with some growers saying that week 38 may be the last of the citrus season in comparison to week 43 last year.