The citrus sector has dodged the US tariffs and packed a record number of cartons this year. (Photo: Max on Unsplash) 
South African citrus growers have capped a juicy 2025 season with a record 203.4 million 15kg cartons packed for export, a 22% increase on 2024.
“Driving the growth is a combination of favourable weather conditions in the growing regions and the many young trees that came into fruit this season,” the Citrus Growers Association of Southern Africa (CGA) said in a statement.
The association also cited “unforeseen factors that contributed to the record-breaking performance”, including robust overseas demand for processing-grade juicing oranges and juicing lemons, Transnet’s marked port improvements, and an earlier-than-usual end to supplies grown in the northern hemisphere.
Image by Neesa Moodley using ChatGPT
“The imposition of a 30% tariff by the US on citrus from South Africa had a limited impact... This was because the tariffs came into effect towards the end of the local season. Growers in the Western and Northern Cape — the only two provinces that export to the US — were also able to increase and fast-track shipments to the US before the tariff deadline,” the association said.
This is a green shoot of note for South Africa’s ailing economy and shows the sector is on the path to its goal of 260 million cartons for shipping by 2032. South Africa’s economic story is not always a harvest of sorrow. DM