“As a result, an investment in cold storage technology and capacity of nearly R1.4 billion is required to enable full compliance putting further financial strain on growers,” he said.
In addition to the existing problem, ongoing power cuts are making things worse for the citrus value chain. Chadwick said that although the CGA is glad that the government has allowed ports to be exempt from power cuts during the current National State of Disaster, it will be difficult for cold stores located away from the port terminals to cool oranges below 2 degrees Celsius.“The fact is that these new requirements have been scientifically proven to be unnecessary considering South Africa’s existing rigorous Risk Management System ensuring that 99.
Chadwick warned that thousands of local growers might not survive, putting the future sustainability of the entire industry, if this new regulation is implemented.The citrus industry suffered a major blow last year, given the impact the Russian invasion on Ukraine had on local citrus growers and exporters.
Russia accounted for approximately 7 to 10% of the total South African citrus exports annually, with 11.2 million cartons of fruit exported to Russia.Additional reporting by
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