South Africa’s cherry harvest from the Ceres region is gaining momentum under favourable spring conditions, with growers reporting strong yields, excellent fruit quality and new export opportunities to China.
According to Tru-Cape’s Calla du Toit, rainfall combined with warm weather before and during flowering created ideal conditions for fruit development in the country’s leading cherry-growing region.
The distributor’s procurement director said conditions had been among the best the region had experienced, with good rain before flowering followed by warm, sunny weather during bloom periods to support pollination and fruit setting.
Although Ceres’ cherry growers mostly export to the European Union and United Kingdom, South Africa has a three-week advantage over Chilean exports, and opportunities to China are looking very promising.
Du Toit’s positive outlook is supported by growers such as Deon Malherbe of Eselfontein farm near Ceres.
He said the region was on course for a larger harvest than in previous years, with many young orchards now coming into production.
The 2025 harvest started about a week earlier than last year, providing a longer marketing period ahead of the peak festive demand in December, when Ceres also holds its annual Cherry Festival.
Du Toit told Fresh Plaza that cherries tended to feature more prominently on consumers’ shopping lists in the run-up to Christmas than afterwards, noting that the earlier start provided an extra week of sales.
Nico Verhoef, a producer at Witzenberg Properties, said conditions remained stable but observed that the cherry season always brought a combination of excitement and nervous energy.
The company has upgraded its hydro-cooling system to hasten fruit temperature reduction immediately after picking and has introduced smaller trucks to speed up the transportation of cherries to packhouses.
Faster cooling also extended shelf life, Verhoef said.
Enhanced power grid reliability in 2025 has also helped growers maintain consistent cold-chain management to preserve fruit quality. Although most cherries will be sold on the domestic market, exports to Europe and the United Kingdom are increasing, supported by airfreight and shared logistics arrangements.
Growers are adapting their production to meet international size preferences, focusing more on fruit of 24mm and larger.
Concerning export potential to China, Fresh Plaza reports that a trade delegation is expected to visit orchards and packing facilities later this season as part of ongoing efforts to secure future market access.
Sustainability initiatives are being integrated into production, including trials of recyclable packaging and the planting of fynbos around orchards to promote biodiversity and pollination.
