Johannesburg - South Africa’s worst drought in a century will reduce the citrus harvest this year and result in smaller- sized oranges that are harder to sell, according to an industry body.
Production of navel oranges and soft-citrus fruits from the Western Cape province is forecast to record a “slight reduction,” Justin Chadwick, chief executive officer of the Citrus Growers’ Association, said in an interview on Thursday.
“We anticipate a reduction in our export volumes because of the drought conditions and extreme heat,” Chadwick said. “The big concern now is we have small amounts of small fruit and a lot of markets don’t like small fruit. They like big fruit.”
