The leading company in the import and export of fresh fruits ends the first half of the year with a good balance, despite floods, strikes, and the lack of containers associated with the Russian war.

When everything seemed to be going back to normal, after two years of COVID pandemic, 2022 started with war, climate changes, and strikes that had impacts on the fresh fruit business.

Nevertheless, at the beginning of the year, Salix Fruit surprised the market when they announced that GrubMarket had completed the acquisition of their company, which has hundreds of growers in more than 20 countries and serves over 450 customers across 50 countries worldwide, including Argentina, Chile, Brazil, South Africa, Spain, India, and the U.S.

“We strive to offer superior service, reliability, and quality, as an importer and exporter of fresh fruit for our global customers, and also seek to further tap into a best-in-class grower network. We are thrilled to learn that GrubMarket shares this same goal and has built out such a well-integrated and much-needed eCommerce and technology-enabled platform to bring fresh food to so many important customers across the country. We have had the same vision about the need for a global fruit marketplace for many years. By joining with GrubMarket, we can make that vision come true. We are proud to be GrubMarket's first South American acquisition and look forward to being a part of the continued South American expansion journey. We sincerely look forward to joining the GrubMarket team and bringing more organic and farmer-direct fresh food to GrubMarket's end customers”, says Juan González Pita, co-founder, and COO of Salix Fruits, at that moment.

Regarding this season, it’s been a tough start but the expectations of Salix Fruits for the second half of the year are optimistic.

“The season is beginning to normalize for destinations that appreciate the quality in citrus fruit”, says González Pita. After the strike and floods that kicked off the season, packing and the ports are all back to normal operations now.

Besides, Salix Fruit’s participation in Fruit Logistica was successfully completed and it was an exceptional opportunity to meet customers, suppliers, and friends.

Currently, navel oranges, lemons, and Nova mandarins are loading, though Novas will end as of next week. Valencia oranges out of the northern part of South Africa will start next week and Nadercott mandarins will begin in approximately two weeks. Late navel varieties will start in the middle of July. Right now, supplies are from the Eastern cape and the northern regions of South Africa.