South African citrus growers packed 203.4 million 15-kilogram cartons for global markets in the 2025 export season. That’s a 19% increase from the original April estimate of 171.2 million cartons, and a 22% increase from 2024 exports.
INCREASE IN ALL VARIETIES
Final packed figures for 2025 are:
- 15.3 million cartons of grapefruit for export, which was also the initial estimate in April. That’s a 7% increase from the 2024 season.
- 53.5 million cartons of mandarins, a 28% increase from the previous season and a 19% increase from the original estimate in April.
- 41.3 million cartons of lemons, 26% more than the original estimate and a 19% increase from 2024.
- 31.5 million cartons of navel oranges, a 25% increase from 2024 and up 21% from the original season estimate.
- 61.8 million cartons of Valencia oranges, up from the 52 million estimated in April and from 2024’s 48.7 million cartons.
GROWTH DRIVERS
Driving the growth is a combination of favorable weather conditions in the growing regions and the many young trees that came into production this season.
Additional factors that contributed to the record-breaking performance included:
- Exceptional demand in overseas markets for processing-grade juicing oranges and juicing lemons.
- An early end to Northern Hemisphere supply drove strong demand and extended the supply window by adding important sales weeks at the beginning of the South African citrus season.
- Improved logistics efficiency, especially port efficiency, was achieved by Transnet, largely through investments in new equipment and the introduction of employee incentives linked to productivity.
The Citrus Growers’ Association of Southern Africa (CGA) stated that there was a high level of effective cooperation by all logistics players, including shipping lines. It added that enhanced farm production efficiencies relating to water usage and pest management, as well as more hectares under nets, contributed to exceptional pack-outs and fruit quality.
LONG-TERM OUTLOOK
The 2025 citrus export volume is slightly ahead of the industry’s long-term projection model. The CGA stated that its growth strategy would enable the production and profitable exporting of 260 million cartons by 2032. If achieved, that would create an additional 100,000 jobs and contribute significant foreign currency earnings to the South African economy.
“Our growers continue to face challenges, including unpredictable price and market dynamics, rising input costs, as well as market access issues such as high tariffs and unscientific plant health measures,” said Boitshoko Ntshabele, CGA chief executive officer.
“It is imperative that the government actively pursues improved market access in China, India, Japan, South Korea, the European Union and the United States,” said Gerrit van der Merwe, chair of the CGA. “These markets represent real growth opportunities for South African citrus, which is globally recognized for its quality and taste.”
Source: CGA
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