In 2022, South Africa’s citrus industry was rocked by export restrictions linked to the false codling moth, a Sub-Saharan
pest whose presence in consignments triggered sweeping trade implications. The result was large volumes of perfectly
good citrus stranded with nowhere to go. Across social media and news platforms, devastating footage of dumped citrus
spread widely, becoming a symbol of the human and economic cost of supply chain disruption. Fruit that had been
cultivated, picked, and packed with care was being destroyed rather than consumed.
As one of South Africa’s largest packers and marketers of citrus fruit, the Sundays River Citrus Company (SRCC) found
itself at the epicentre of the crisis. With 29 tonnes of premium oranges stranded at the end of the harvest season, the clock
was ticking. Perishable produce waits for no one, and the window to act was narrow.
SRCC refused to follow the path of disposal. Instead, they looked for a solution that would redirect the fruit to where it was
needed most. SRCC partnered with OneFarm Share, which moved quickly to arrange the full logistics and packaging
required to get the oranges out of storage and into communities. For a time-critical donation at the end of the season,
seamless execution was everything, and that is exactly what the programme delivered. The 29 tonnes were matched with
three established distribution partners operating in the Western Cape: FoodForward SA, SA Harvest, and Chefs with
Compassion. Hundreds of families across the Western Cape received fresh, nutritious citrus that would otherwise have
been lost.
What made SRCC’s response remarkable was the choice it represented. Faced with the industry’s toughest moment, they
chose community over convenience. Rather than accepting the write-off, they converted surplus into social impact,
demonstrating what responsible agriculture looks like in practice.