By Nelson Banya.
South Africa’s citrus shipments fell 1.5% this year, as the US-Israeli war with Iran disrupted access to some key markets and bad weather affected production in parts of the country, a farmers’ group said on Thursday.
Citrus growers exported 201 million cartons in the 2026 season, compared to 204 million cartons shipped in 2025, the Citrus Growers’ Association of Southern Africa (CGA) said in a statement.
South Africa is the world’s No.2 citrus exporter by value after Spain and citrus is the country’s biggest agricultural export, earning 44.9 billion rand ($2.7 billion) in 2025.
Exporters struggled to access the Middle East market, which typically accounts for 20% of South Africa’s citrus exports, amid a container shortage.
Exporters could often reach key markets such as Iraq and Saudi Arabia only through longer shipping routes, the CGA said.
Flooding across the Western and Eastern Cape destroyed some orchards in key producing regions.
Citrus exporters are bracing for the impact of South Africa’s exclusion from the United States’ African Growth and Opportunity Act, ending duty-free access to a market accounting for about 5% of citrus exports