{"id":870721,"date":"2026-08-18T15:00:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T13:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=870721"},"modified":"2026-08-18T15:00:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T13:00:11","slug":"major-breakthrough-for-one-of-south-africas-biggest-export-industries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/lifestyle\/870721\/major-breakthrough-for-one-of-south-africas-biggest-export-industries\/","title":{"rendered":"South Africa seals major deal with India after 10 years of negotiations"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

South Africa’s citrus industry is celebrating a major breakthrough that has been nearly ten years in the making. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

India has finally agreed to include additional treatment options for fresh citrus fruit from South Africa, potentially opening up a market of almost 1.5 billion people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The agreement, announced on Monday, is a significant step forward as the industry aims to expand its markets in countries like India and China, while reducing its reliance on Europe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Currently, Europe accounts for about 36% of South Africa’s citrus exports, but it imposes what local producers consider unnecessary and unscientific plant health requirements. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These requirements include a zero-tolerance policy for pests such as citrus black spot and false codling moth, mandatory cold treatment, and stringent inspection and interception protocols.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Citrus Growers’ Association of Southern Africa (CGA) has stated that it will continue to advocate for better tariff conditions, which still put it at a disadvantage in the Indian market. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a joint statement on Monday, the CGA and the Department of Agriculture announced that, after nearly a decade of negotiations, India has approved the inclusion of additional cold-treatment options for fruit flies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This change is expected to enhance the quality of the product and increase logistical flexibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Agriculture Minister Willie Aucamp praised the development as a testament to how “advanced technology enables our farmers to break barriers, allowing other countries to enjoy our high-quality produce.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aucamp said that, with a population of approximately 1.47 billion and as one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing economies, India presents significant potential for South African citrus exports. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, its share of the country’s exports is currently very small, accounting for about 1.5% in 2024, according to data from the National Agricultural Marketing Council.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This breakthrough follows years of discussions between the Department of Agriculture, the research and technical services organisation Citrus Research International, and Indian authorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CGA CEO Boitshoko Ntshabele emphasised the significance of maintaining strong public-private partnerships to enhance the technical conditions for accessing markets. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, he noted that the focus should now shift towards improving the commercial conditions for South African citrus entering the Indian market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Tariffs of about 25%-30% continue to place local fruit at a disadvantage against southern hemisphere competitors benefiting from preferential tariff arrangements,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second largest exporter of citrus fruit in the world<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
Minister of Agriculture Willie Aucamp<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

South Africa’s citrus industry achieved a record-breaking export season in 2025, shipping over 200 million 15-kilogram cartons worldwide. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This marks the highest volume ever recorded for the country’s leading agricultural export and is a significant milestone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Former Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen commended the industry, calling it an outstanding achievement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The export figures for 2025 reflect a 22% increase compared to the volumes exported in 2024, greatly surpassing initial estimates and long-term growth projections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis achievement by the industry is a testament to the resilience and strategic foresight of our citrus growers, workers, and industry leadership,\u201d Steenhuisen said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHitting over 203 million cartons for the export market is a powerful indicator of the sector\u2019s vital role in our economy, its capacity to create jobs, and its contribution to our country\u2019s foreign earnings.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

South Africa is the world\u2019s second-largest exporter of citrus fruit, following Spain. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

About two-thirds of the country’s citrus production is exported as fresh fruit, which accounts for 95% of the industry\u2019s annual revenue. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This export activity creates significant employment opportunities throughout the entire value chain. Citrus is considered South Africa\u2019s most valuable export industry within the agriculture sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt continues to reinforce the role of the fruit industry, which remains the cornerstone of the agricultural sector in the country and a national economy stabiliser in times of a national economic crisis, as witnessed during the COVID-19 epidemic,\u201d said Steenhuisen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also mentioned that the Department of Agriculture will continue to collaborate closely with the industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is to overcome logistical challenges, expand and maintain market access, and create more jobs while earning essential foreign exchange.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After 10 years, India has agreed to include additional treatment options for fresh citrus fruit from South Africa.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":870811,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"posted","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"2089699093161332931","_sma_facebook_post_id":"191437357620492_2179790326174700","_sma_instagram_post_id":"18099581057631188","_sma_x_attempts":1,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9876],"tags":[20147,26205,24726],"class_list":["post-870721","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","tag-john-steenhuisen","tag-the-citrus-growers-association-of-southern-africa-cga","tag-willie-aucamp"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/870721","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/127"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=870721"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/870721\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":870809,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/870721\/revisions\/870809"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/870811"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=870721"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=870721"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=870721"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}