---
title: "SA citrus exports fall short of record, Iran War squeezes key markets"
description: "Yields and production aside, it seems that everything that could go wrong went pear-shaped for domestic citrus growers. When it rains, it pours."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "PROFIT-PRUNING"
author: "Ed Stoddard"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/ed-stoddard/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-11-13-sa-citrus-exports-fall-short-of-record-iran-war-squeezes-key-markets/"
published: "2026-11-13T12:28:16"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 647
---

# SA citrus exports fall short of record, Iran War squeezes key markets

> Yields and production aside, it seems that everything that could go wrong went pear-shaped for domestic citrus growers. When it rains, it pours.

By Ed Stoddard · Published 13 November 2026, 14:28 SAST

## Key points
- South Africa packed 201 million 15kg cartons for export in 2026 — just below last year’s record and well short of earlier forecasts.
- An Iran war, soaring fuel costs and weaker Middle Eastern access squeezed demand, shipping capacity and growers’ margins.
- Floods, oversized fruit, Durban port backlogs and a stronger rand piled further pressure onto an already “highly unprofitable” season.
- The long-term outlook remains positive, but the industry says it must better align production, timing and supply with market demand.

## Content

South Africa’s 2026 citrus exports fell just shy of the record reached last year despite excellent yields as the Iran War, heavy rains and domestic logistical snag-ups all combined to create a “highly unprofitable season” of woe for the sector.

Citrus growers here packed 201 million 15kg cartons for export in the 2026 season, down slightly from the 2025 record of 203.4 million and well short of the initial April estimate that the figure would reach over 209 million.

[YouTube video: "YouTube video"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REx99NMJ7Ig)

That’s still a bumper export season but it could have been better, while soaring fuel and other input costs pruned profits.

“Volumes only tell one part of the story. This has been a very tough season. Nearly every risk factor facing our industry materialised, including a war in one of our biggest markets, the Middle East,” Dr Boitshoko Ntshabele, CEO of the Citrus Growers Association (CGA), said in a statement.

> “Growers in most production areas achieved excellent yields on farm, but the conditions under which the fruit was exported tested every link in the chain. We must take every lesson offered by this highly unprofitable season and act decisively as an industry in order to avoid a repeat in future.”

US President Donald Trump’s ill-conceived war of choice against Iran cast the biggest shadow over the sector, driving up key input prices, notably for diesel, which the CGA said was “especially punishing”.

One of the consequences of the war has been a decline in the spending power of the overseas middle-class, which is the main consumer market for the local citrus industry. The conflict also limited shipping capacity into the Middle East.

“Some ports were not safely accessible, and those that were, faced heavy congestion. Key markets such as Iraq and Saudi Arabia could often only be reached via extremely long shipping routes,” said the CGA.

[for context

Business casts a wary eye on Port of Durban as cargo delays persist

November 11, 2026 ![Image](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/zCsiT1l_dJQxMbJwirxkXVsWW9g=/450x0/smart/file/attachments/orphans/Holly-Durbanportupdate_780066.jpg)](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-11-11-business-casts-a-wary-eye-on-port-of-durban-as-cargo-delays-persist/)

Foreign port problems were compounded by domestic port malfunctions. Backlogs at Durban closed market supply windows, and the problems there remain a thorn in the side of the South African economy.

“When fruit misses a key market window, costs remain while its value falls sharply. With so much of the cost of getting citrus to consumers incurred after packing, every carton that arrives misaligned with prevailing market conditions and requirements erodes returns exponentially,” the CGA said.

![The citrus sector has dodged the US tariffs and packed a record number of cartons this year. (Photo: Max on Unsplash)](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/9LZE9AwFcIq0fSvKhzhyqyGvJhg=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/orphans/BM-Ed-Citrus-exports2_162217.jpg)

*The citrus sector has dodged US tariffs and packed a record number of cartons this year. (Photo: Max on Unsplash)*

### Not showers, a downpour

Weather dealt another blow. Citrus is a water-intensive industry – juice is, after all, one of its key products – but deluge can be as harmful as drought.

Orchards in both the Western and Eastern Cape were swept away by floods, while heavy rainfall resulted in an abundance of big fruit at exactly the wrong time, when demand emerged for smaller sizes.

In short, yields and production aside, it seems that everything that *could* go wrong went pear-shaped for domestic citrus growers. Even the rand extracted a toll, with its relative strength taking a bite out of export margins.

When it rains, it pours.

Still, the longer-term outlook is bright.

[Media: "Chart: El Niño splits Southern Africa's 2026/27 rains: a drying south against a wetter north"](https://charts.dailymaverick.co.za/chart/f91a00ef1a5782ca838cce9d)

“In the medium term most concerns remain, especially regarding the Middle East, but in the longer term the industry’s fundamentals have not changed. It remains well positioned to keep supplying high-quality fruit to the Northern Hemisphere during its summer months,” said Gerrit van der Merwe, Chairperson of the CGA.

The CGA said it planned to devote more attention to business intelligence to align production and supplies to market demand with a focus on timing.

Citrus is a key growth area for South Africa’s agricultural sector and the wider economy, employing 160,000 farm-level jobs according to the CGA. It remains an economic green shoot of note that needs nurturing. **DM**