Summer Citrus from South Africa has announced that its first citrus fruit shipment of the 2024 season is en route to the U.S., expected to arrive at the Port of Philadelphia this week.

This initial shipment of approximately 120 reefer containers, primarily containing clementines from Cape Town, marks the start of the 25th season that the group—comprising various growers from the country—has exported fruit to the U.S.

The marketer and shipper added that additional shipments of navel oranges and star ruby grapefruit will follow in weekly intervals until the end of October.

“We are serving one of the world’s most demanding markets, and adapting to the current state of the supply chain on any given day is a key factor of our business model. We have gained much momentum with our collaborative approach and intend to keep it going in 2024,” said the CEO of Summer Citrus, Suhanra Conradie.

She added that the group's current shipping plan involves exporting 50% of the citrus via breakbulk and the remainder as containerized cargo.

“It’s all about matching up the available supply with the demand of the market. It's not one exporter shipping here. We are trying to put everybody together and make sure that our infrastructure and our supply chain caters for the supply and that we can move food as fast as possible,” she added.