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Edgar Vhera Agriculture Specialist Writer
THE Horticulture Recovery and Growth Plan (HRGP) is projected to trigger the growth of the hectarage under citrus trees by 15 000ha from 3 301ha in 2020 in a development that will see production and export figures rising with the successful roll out of the Citrus Recovery and Growth Programme (CRGP), one of the HRGP’s key tenets.
The increase in hectarage will come at a cost of US$1 800 per hectare including inputs while the Citrus Growers Association of Zimbabwe (CGAZ) will market the products.
The programme will develop irrigation and provide equipment and virus free planting material alongside good agronomic practices. The programme will be based on cluster models to promote aggregation of produce and access to markets. The programme will be funded by Government, private sector and donors to the tune of US$27 million.
Horticultural Development Council (HDC) Chief Executive Officer Mrs Linda Nielsen recently gave an update on lemon, oranges, grapefruit and soft citrus production.
“Lemon production in Zimbabwe is prevalent in Mashonaland with 300ha of the fruit while Beitbridge has 170ha that all feed into the national figure of 500 hectares. Approximately 1 400 tonnes were exported in 2023 and 5 150 tonnes are projected for 2024. The bulk of this hectarage is new production and is yet to come into fruit,” the HDC boss said.
Mrs Nielsen said grapefruit was being produced in Beitbridge region on approximately 170 hectares with 2 250 tonnes exported mainly to the European markets in 2023.
“Shipment is through Port of Durban as Zimbabwe has a cold storage facility approval at Hammersdale. Zimbabwean fruit in bond can also be shipped through Cape Town. These are currently the only approved routes for citrus to meet protocol requirements for the European Union (EU) and China markets,” she said.
She said valencia and navel oranges were produced in the Mashonaland region on about 525 hectares yielding around 18 000 tonnes with a projected 12 000 tonnes destined for export. A total of 150 hectares are new orchards that are not yet in production.
“The Beitbridge area has about 2 800 hectares with an estimated total production of 48 000 tonnes, the majority of this is for export to the EU market,” Mrs Nielsen disclosed.
Soft citrus such as clementines, nadorcott and tango are not yet for export but approximately 250 tonnes was produced for the local market. About 4 000 tonnes are projected for export in the 2024 season into a combination of markets such as EU, United Kingdom, Middle and Far East, she said.
The HDC 2023 quarterly seasonal update for June said a citrus indaba was held in May with financing high on the agenda and options such as pension fund were proffered to unlock this funding source.
The report also indicated that new citrus plantings were ongoing at Sable in Chegutu, Mazoe Citrus with some lesser plantings under hub and spoke model.
“Currently the main challenge affecting citrus production is lack of access to long term finance at manageable interest rates to encourage increased planting. There is need to work on cost containment from packhouse to market. Cold stores need to be established in Port of Beira to cater for future growth in exports to China and the Far East to ease current congestion at South African ports,” the report added.
Online Reporter