Although the covid-19 has brought many challenges to citrus growers and logistics companies in South Africa, the export volume is close to the pre-season forecast, and the citrus industry in South Africa is expected to set a new export record this year. Citrus packaging machines have greatly facilitated the smooth export of Citrus from South Africa.
At the end of week 34 (August 21st), almost 90% of exported citrus had been packaged in the northern region of South Africa. The last batch of fruit will also be packed in the area within the next two weeks. In Cape, which is currently harvesting, packaging is expected to continue for another four weeks.
According to the current forecast, the final export volume will be 142.8 million boxes, slightly lower than the 143.3 million boxes predicted before the season. Exports of soft citrus (oranges) and lemons exceeded pre-season forecasts, while shipments of navel oranges and Valencia oranges were slightly less than expected (the growth is still strong). There are more than 1 million boxes of grapefruit less than expected.
"This is a special season," said Milaan Thalwitzer, an experienced citrus grower and chairman of Komati Fruit. "Despite the impact of a series of conditions brought about by the epidemic, market demand are strong, and the exchange rate is also good, making this season our best season in recent years."
One of the reasons for the strong demand is that citrus is considered an ideal fruit for improving immunity during the epidemic. Consumers also believe that this fruit has a long shelf life and is suitable for storage at home, reducing the frequency of going to the store to buy.
The citrus grading and packaging machine mainly consists of two parts: a grading machine and a weighing packaging. The citrus can be graded with a drum grader. The drum classifier is mainly based on the diameter of the citrus; it can also be sorted according to the weight of the citrus with a weighing sizer, the accuracy of the sorting is higher, the efficiency is higher, and the speed is faster. The automatic weighing and packaging part can automatically pack boxes of different specifications. Due to the impact of the epidemic, more and more consumers have higher requirements for the quality of fruits and vegetables. The fruit and vegetable grading machine can better improve the quality of fruits and vegetables, and the sorted fruits and vegetables are more in line with the needs of consumers.