South Africa citrus exports set a new record in the 2010 season, in which 99 million have been packed, according to a statement from the Citrus Growers Association.

The industry packed 13% more citrus in 2010 than 2009, and has shipped 97.2 million cartons, 20% more than last year. In 2009, South Africa packed 87.6 million cartons and shipped 81.8 million of them.

Shipments are shifting away from the European Union into new markets, CGA CEO Justin Chadwick said in the statement.

In 2010, 44% of citrus exports went to the EU, down from 52% in 2008. The Middle East and Russia are taking in the difference, according to association statistics. The Middle East represented 22% of exports in 2010, up from 18% in 2008, while Russia took in 12%, up from 9% in 2008.

Of the varieties of citrus, oranges showed the biggest gains. Valencias had the largest increase, up to 46.5 million cartons shipped in 2010 from 35.3 million cartons in 2009. Navels increased to 22.9 million cartons from 19.1 million cartons. Lemons increased to 9.6 million cartons in 2010 from 7.7 million in 2009. Grapefruit declined to 12.5 million cartons this year from 13.7 million last year.

Source: www.freshfruitportal.com