In part two of this insert, OFM Business Hour presenter, Olebogeng Motse, speaks to Hannes de Waal from the Citrus Growers Association, about, amongst others, the possible job opportunities that might stem from this protocol…

See PODCAST below

This revised protocol, which was signed by Agriculture Minister, Thoko Didiza, means that China will become a critical export market for local citrus producers hence great excitement in the industry.

De Waal foresees that about 15 000 jobs could stem from lemon farms where the lemons have already been planted.

He further boasts that South African lemon producers grow a very high-quality lemon that has a very high juice content – as far as the world is concerned.

With that being said, citrus sales have skyrocketed when the Covid-19 virus was first reported in the country last year. “We were actually astonished by it. We never saw it coming and we were very pleasantly surprised,” shares De Waal.

Part 1: Citrus industry welcomes signed citrus protocol between SA and China

This year, however, the demand for lemons and oranges have tapered off. Sales are back to normal. De Waal contributes this to the fact that a lot of South Africans have been vaccinated against the virus, amongst other reasons.

For the next three years, De Waal predicts that the industry will go from strength to strength. This, as the industry consists of resilient producers with more and more black producers becoming part of the citrus industry.

“It’s an industry that’s accessible, it does not have that many barriers to entry. The only thing you have to watch out for is growth...”

But, the Rand becoming stronger in the future poses a risk to the industry. De Waal concludes that this might put a cap on what the industry is trying to achieve.

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