Harvest situation in the Southern Hemisphere, week 32, 2011

An iQonsulting report has forecast Southern Hemisphere orange and easy peeler exports will fall by more than 13% this year, with low sizes registered for Murcott mandarins in Argentina.

Easy peeler exports are expected to fall 13.58% to 281,173 metric tons (MT) despite a rise in shipment volumes from largest player South Africa. Chile's Murcott harvest was in the beginning stage in week 32 (Aug. 12), while harvests in parts of Uruguay have been slow due to intense rains.

Southern Hemisphere orange shipments are expected to fall 13.85% to 1.23MT, even though Australia's exports are forecast to jump dramatically. Quality and size problems were registered for Chilean and Argentine crops, Uruguay has suffered weather setbacks, while the biggest volume fall is set to come from South Africa.

Argentina

Argentina's Honey Murcott mandarin harvest has progressed 20% in the main growing provinces of Entre Ríos and Corrientes, with exports expected to fall by 34.46% to 80,000MT this season. Sizes have fallen but it is not expected this will affect export volumes.

The country's Valencia orange harvest was expected to begin in week 32, with Washington Navel variety harvests 90% complete in the province of Buenos Aires. Argentina's total orange exports are set to fall 32.19% this year to 100,000MT.

Australia

iQonsulting expects Australia's orange exports will rise 36.89% to 125,000MT in 2011, with a 55% total harvest progression in the season to week 32.

Chile

In week 32 Chilean growers were finishing collecting clementines for the local market, with the majority of export clementines harvested at the end of August. The country's first Murcott harvests began in the Ovalle area but with limited volumes, while farmers in the Metropolitana (Santiago) and V (Valparaiso) regions were expected to begin during week 33 (Aug. 19). Harvests of the Fortuna variety are forecast to start in week 35 (Sep. 2).

Chile's easy peeler production is not expected to be affected by the frosts that hit the country in July, with shipments set to rise 15% in 2011 to 45,573MT.

The country's orange harvests have recently been focused on late Lanes and Cara Caras (Red Navels) in the Quillota area. Total orange exports are forecast to fall 11.2% to 47,050MT, with a higher percentage of 72-count fruit and some aesthetic damages due to low temperatures in July.

South Africa

South Africa is by far the Southern Hemisphere's leader in fresh orange and easy peeler exports, with mixed results this season for the two different fruit categories. Its easy peeler shipments are expected to rise 5.63% to 112,500MT this season, with around 25,350MT of Satsumas already shipped by the end of July.

Harvests in week 34 were focused on late Clementines and Murcott Mandarins, which represent around 37,320MT and 25,320MT of exports respectively.

Valencia harvests began in the Eastern Cape during week 29 (Jul. 22) while collection started in the Western Cape in week 31 (Aug. 5). The country's expected 15.52% fall to 883,000MT in exports is largely due to an unexpected supply in destination markets.

However, there have not been many physical problems observed with South African oranges this season.

Uruguay

Uruguay finished up its Minneola and Clementine collections during the end of July, making way for the harvest of Ellendale, Ortanique and Murcott easy peeler varieties from week 28 (Jul. 15) through to week 35 (Sep. 2).

Harvesting has been slower than normal in the deparments of Paysandú and Salto due to intense rains. The country's total easy peeler exports are set to fall 24.59% to 43,100MT this season.

Rain has also delayed Uruguay's Navel orange harvest, with collection expected to continue through to mid-September. Valencia harvests began in week 31 and are expected to continue until the end of October if climatic conditions are favorable.

Frosts in Salto during July did not lead to significant damages for orange export volumes. However, in Paysandú several orchards registered fruit damage due to the weather conditions.

Growers have observed a higher percentage of 64 to 100 count sizes this season, favoring a good distribution for export. Total shipment volumes are expected to fall 17.32% to 76,050MT for the season.

iQonsulting/ edited by www.freshfruitportal