CAPE TOWN: South African fruit and nut exports rose 18% year-on-year in 2017 to reach US$3.4 billion, outstripping the growth rate for shipment volume by eight percentage points. Leading the way were oranges which accounted for more than a third of the volume and just over a fifth of the value, with exports up 26% at US$760 million.
Next in the ranks were grapefruit with a 26% jump to US$134 million, followed by macadamias which saw growth rates of 66% in-shell and 10% for the shelled nut, at levels of US$129 million and US$118 million respectively. Plum exports rose 3% to US$83 million while avocado shipments were down 10% at US$65 million, which isn’t so drastic considering volume was 25% lower. A category for a series of sub-tropical fruit species, mostly made up of litchis, had a 2% export increase to US$53 million, while the country’s fairly young blueberry industry saw exports nearly double to US$49 million. The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia were the only leading markets that saw declines in their imports of South African fruit, while the sharpest rises were for Vietnam (+88%; US$98 million) the Chinese mainland (+85%; US$107 million), Russia (+52%; US$167 million) and third-largest market Hong Kong (+34%; US$285 million).
The Netherlands continued to be the leading market for South African fruit with a 15% rise to US$681 million, followed by the U.K. which saw its intake go up 14% to US$499 million.
