South African citrus exports to India continue to show strong growth, rising nearly 85% in 2025 as the industry steps up efforts to expand its footprint in one of Asia’s most promising markets.
Southern African Citrus Growers’ Association (CGA) chief executive, Dr Boitshoko Ntshabele, writing his latest weekly newsletter from India, said a business delegation visited New Delhi as part of FruitSA’s annual market access mission last week.
“The delegation held constructive discussions with representatives from India’s Ministries of Agriculture and Commerce. Discussions were encouraging and focused on making progress and finding opportunities to work on matters of joint interest for South Africa and India.”
India’s Brics chairmanship this year and the upcoming Africa-India Forum Summit are expected to create further momentum for trade. India is one of the few Asian markets recording positive growth in South African export volumes, supported by market development investments by the CGA.
Ntshabele noted that India, with the world’s largest population – more than 1.47 billion – and a growing middle class willing to pay for premium produce, fitted well with the industry’s campaign: “Beautiful Country, Beautiful Fruit, Exceptional Taste.”
He congratulated Sweet C on winning Fresh Produce India’s market campaign award for mandarins.
“Brand-specific initiatives like this play an important role in building awareness of South African citrus and expanding consumer appetite across the category.”
Ntshabele said importers in India remained optimistic, particularly for mandarins, with steadier gains expected for oranges. This growth is especially timely as conflict in the Middle East – a market that typically absorbs around 19% of South Africa’s citrus exports – continues to disrupt global trade flows.
The South African citrus industry is projecting total exports of up to 215 million cartons this season, up from 203.9 million last year, driven by strong growing conditions and new orchards coming into production.
Ntshabele said fruit quality remained excellent despite some harvest delays caused by intermittent rainfall in some northern regions.
At the end of week 16, total packed volumes stood at 14.8 million 15kg cartons for the 2026 season, compared with 12 million in 2025.
