A South African delegation led by Deputy President Paul Mashatile visited the port infrastructure of St. Petersburg. The guests were shown a modern terminal designed to store up to 11,000 tonnes of fruit at a time.

At the time of the delegation’s arrival, another shipment of citrus fruits delivered from South Africa on a specialised refrigerated vessel was being unloaded. The cargo included oranges, grapefruits, lemons, mandarins, as well as apples, pears, and avocados.

During the meeting, the parties discussed the expansion of bilateral cooperation, including investments in logistics and agro-industrial projects. Mashatile noted the importance of cooperation in the field of agriculture between Russia and South Africa.

South Africa is a leading supplier of fresh fruit to the Russian market, with South African citrus fruits covering at least a third of Russia’s demand. Due to differences in climate and harvest seasonality, products from South Africa do not compete with Russian products but complement them in the winter and spring.

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1992 and the start of direct deliveries, annual shipments have grown to 300,000 tonnes 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 per cent of the fruit is delivered directly to St. Petersburg, bypassing transit ports. In June alone, six specialised vessels arrived in the city, including one that delivered 5,000 tonnes of fruit, the unloading of which coincided with the visit of the delegation.

Photo: Aleksey Laskov / Russia-South Africa Business Council