Fresh Fruit: Citrus, Grapes, Avocados, Mangoes, Apples & Pears

Fresh fruit is a cold-chain trade in which the specification, the season and the destination's plant health rules decide what can be shipped and when. CBIL is a commodity brokerage company and brokers five fresh fruit families: citrus (HS 0805), sold on juice content, sugar/acid ratio, class and diameter under the EU marketing standard and UNECE FFV-14; table grapes (HS 0806.10), sold on Brix, berry size and a 75 g minimum bunch weight in Class I; Hass avocados (HS 0804.40), sold on a 21% minimum dry matter and count per 4 kg carton under UNECE FFV-42; mangoes (HS 0804.50), sold by variety and weight band with the quarantine treatment the destination sets; and apples and pears (HS 0808), sold on diameter or count, class and condition out of cold or controlled atmosphere storage. UN Comtrade 2024 export declarations put citrus at USD 15.44 billion and 13.69 million MT, led by Spain, South Africa, China, Egypt and Turkiye; grapes at USD 12.21 billion and 5.01 million MT, led by Peru, Chile, China and the USA; avocados, mangoes and pineapples together at USD 16.92 billion, led by Mexico, Peru and Costa Rica; and apples and pears at USD 9.54 billion and 9.08 million MT, led by China, the USA, Italy, South Africa and Chile.

The two hemispheres cover the year between them. South Africa ships citrus from April to October while Spain, Egypt and Turkiye supply from autumn to spring; Peru, Chile and South Africa ship grapes from October to May; Mexico supplies avocados all year with Peru's main season from May to August; Peru's Kent mangoes run from November to March and Mexico's from February to September; and northern hemisphere apples picked from August to November are sold from store while Chile, South Africa and New Zealand fill the first half of the year. Every lot travels with a phytosanitary certificate from the origin's plant protection organisation, and European retail buyers expect GlobalG.A.P. certification, with residues within the destination's maximum residue levels (the EU default is 0.01 mg/kg where no specific limit is set). Fruit-fly and moth markets add cold-treatment protocols, such as China's schedules for South African citrus and Peruvian grapes and the EU's false codling moth treatment for African oranges, and the EU applies citrus black spot measures to citrus from Argentina, Brazil, South Africa, Uruguay and Zimbabwe until 31 March 2028. Cargo moves in 40-ft reefer containers of about 20 pallets, with the temperature and controlled atmosphere set per fruit, on FOB, CFR and CIF terms, and an independent inspection at loading where the buyer wants it.