The delegation of South Africa, headed by Vice-President Paul Mashatile, visited the port infrastructure of St. Petersburg. The guests were shown a modern terminal, designed for a one-time storage of up to 11 thousand tons of fruits.
At the time of the arrival of the delegation, another batch of citrus fruits delivered from South Africa on a specialized refrigerated vessel was unloaded. The cargo includes oranges, grapefruits, lemons, tangerines, as well as apples, pears and avocado.
During the meeting, the parties discussed the expansion of bilateral cooperation, including investments in logistics and agro-industrial projects. Masatile noted the importance of interaction in the field of agriculture between Russia and South Africa.
South Africa occupies a leading position among suppliers of fresh fruits to the Russian market – South African citrus covers at least a third of Russia’s demand. Due to differences in climate and seasonality of harvest, products from South Africa do not compete with the Russian, but complement it in the winter-spring period.
Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1992 and the beginning of direct deliveries, the volume of annual shipments has increased to 300 thousand tons per year. More than 100 companies are involved in this trade exchange: farmers and exporters from South Africa, as well as Russian distributors.
More than 80 percent of the fruit is delivered directly to St. Petersburg, bypassing transit ports. In June alone, 6 specialized vessels arrived in the city, including a ship that delivered 5 thousand tons of fruit, the unloading of which coincided with the visit of the delegation.
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