South Africa is the world's largest citrus exporter
The Citrus Growers’ Association of South Africa (CGA) has lowered its 2026 export forecast to 205.3 million 15kg cartons, down from the pre-season estimate of 209.4 million cartons released in March. This would still exceed the 203.4 million cartons shipped in 2025. This record helped South Africa overtake Spain as the world's largest citrus exporter.
The CGA cites two main drivers for the downgrade. First, floods in the Eastern Cape and Western Cape have disrupted the season, with lower-than-expected harvests of mandarins, navel oranges and grapefruit. Second, the industry is facing market-access issues in the Middle East because of conflict in the region.
As of July 2026, South Africa remains the largest citrus exporter in the world. Citrus remains South Africa’s single largest agricultural export by value, and that positioning reinforces the macro relevance of the sector: citrus exports are a meaningful contributor to foreign-exchange inflows, rural employment and infrastructure demand across ports and cold-chain logistics.
FURTHER AFRICA
