SOUTH AFRICAN STONE FRUIT PRODUCERS OVERCOME TOUGH SEASON TO INCREASE EXPORTS

South African stone-fruit exports have increased substantially this year despite a challenging production season for growers. Figures from industry body Hortgro for the 2025/26 season show there were 32.4 million cartons of stone fruit available for export, representing a 15% rise on the previous year. All stone-fruit products enjoyed an increase, but there were huge rises for cherries, which jumped 111% to 487,871 cartons, and peaches, up 41% at 2.7 million cartons.

Among the best-selling crops, plums were up 6% at 15.8m cartons, and nectarines rose 21% to 12.6m cartons. Apricots had a 1% rise to 749,874 cartons.

According to Hortgro, greater production of peaches and cherries was the driving force of the large overall increase. Additional planted hectares of cherries have now come into production, alongside a smaller amount of new nectarines, and there has also been an upswing in the volume of peaches packed for export.

All of that has been achieved despite a tough season for producers, explained Jacques du Preez, general manager of trade and markets at Hortgro. “The start of the season was very warm and dry and influenced the sizing,” he said. “Later in March, the Langkloof and the Witzenberg/Ceres region had hail and experienced some flooding, then in May, there was another cold front and heavy flooding in some parts of the Western Cape. The season was also impacted by high winds.”

The UK remains a key destination market for South African stone fruit, but the mix of fruit customers seek has evolved over the past half-decade. In 2021/22, peaches and nectarines represented two-thirds of stone-fruit sendings, but that has fallen back to 59% this year as the market gets more of a taste for plums. Plums now make up 37% of South African stone-fruit exports to the UK, up from 29% four years ago.

UK marketing activity this year has been centred on an integrated campaign aimed at raising consumer awareness of the seasonality and premium quality of South African stone fruit, and positioning it as the most sustainable source in the southern hemisphere. The fruit’s exceptional taste credentials were highlighted throughout the season.

In addition to consumer advertising in titles such as Good Food, Olive and Sainsbury’s Magazine, the promotional push featured trade and consumer PR, social media and LinkedIn campaigns, and influencer collaborations. Chef and restaurateur Reuben Riffel also created three new recipes to encourage consumers to enjoy the fruit in new ways.

“Overall, it was a strong export season, with consumers in key markets being able to enjoy more of our fruit than the previous year,” Du Preez said. “New plantings coming on stream helped bring more fruit to market despite the challenges growers faced with difficult weather conditions.”