South Africa's cherry industry has had a difficult start to the 2026/27 season, with unusually early harvests, uneven fruit quality and delayed access to China, and exports could fall by as much as 30% from last season despite strong demand abroad, Farmer's Weekly reports.
Karien Bezuidenhout, manager of Hortgro's CherriesZA, said production rose 111% in 2025/26, an excellent season, but the weather has been less kind this year. "Heatwaves followed by cold fronts also negatively affected fruit set, while fruit quality has not been as good as we would have liked," she said, adding that shelf life could be shorter than usual. About 30% of the country's cherry orchards are not yet in full production.
Clive Garrett, marketing manager at ZZ2, which grows cherries in the north of the country, said early picking in the Western Cape and an early start by Chile had eaten into the window his company normally has. ZZ2 flies all its cherries to the Middle East, the Far East, the EU and the UK. Prices are largely unchanged from last year but input and airfreight costs have risen sharply, squeezing margins.
South Africa and China signed a market access protocol on 8 September 2026, but administrative steps between the two governments are still outstanding and no fruit has been shipped. "We had around six importers lined up to take our cherries," Garrett said. With northern growers finishing by the end of October, they are unlikely to benefit this season, though Western Cape growers still might if the process is completed in time.
Hortgro figures show South Africa had 802 ha of cherries in 2025, 352 ha of them in Ceres. Of the 3,306 t produced in 2024/25, 33% was exported, 57% sold locally and 9% processed, with the UK taking 60% of exports. The report was written by Lindi Botha.
Photo: George Chernilevsky / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
Source: Farmers Weekly South Africa
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