According to Lean van Schalkwyk, marketing manager at Neofresh litchi producer, this is underscored by the fact that at the time of going to print the price of a 2kg carton of litchis ranged between R130 and R140.
Speaking to Farmer’s Weekly, Van Schalkwyk said the number of flowers on trees were markedly reduced because of unexpected drops in temperatures and the occurrence of frost, as well as exceedingly high temperatures earlier in the current season.
“Fruit set was poor on the already reduced number of flowers. The situation was exacerbated by cold damage during July followed by scorchingly hot temperatures at the beginning of spring. This resulted in substantial fruit drop and sunburn damage,” he explained.
According to Van Schalkwyk, South African litchis are exported to the US, Middle East and the UK. He said local litchis were highly sought after globally because of quality and good size. The global markets prefer a fruit of at least 34mm in circumference.
“Madagascar, Mauritius and Reunion are South Africa’s biggest competitors internationally. This year, with our low volumes, litchi prices will hopefully remain higher than the norm,” he said.
Local exporters are exporting high volumes of the fruit in order to take advantage of the market before the first shipments from Madagascar arrive.
“It has been a fairly nerve-wracking start to the season,” Ben Halliday of Agrilink, an air freighter that has been transporting litchis to Europe and the Middle East for the past seven weeks, said in a press statement. “It is challenging to amass the required volumes.”
According to the South African Litchi Growers’ Association’s most recent census, total plantings in South Africa stand at 1 360ha, which are 21ha more than in 2023.
The Mauritius cultivar is the most planted litchi in South Africa, with McLean’s Red in second place. Nearly all McLean’s Red litchis are produced in the Letaba region in Limpopo.
