South African pome fruit sector posts nine percent revenue uptick
Add Fresh Fruit Portal to GoogleSouth African pome fruit growers enjoyed a profitable 2025. The sector scored approximately $1.23 billion in total turnover last year, a nine percent year-on-year uptick.
The happy numbers accounted for 93 percent of the broader deciduous fruit sector’s fresh-market income, according to Hortgro’s Key Deciduous Fruit Statistics report.
The apples and pears segment comprises 611 active producers farming 94,611 acres. The former accounted for 62,738 acres, while pears covered 31,873 acres.
The industry had a major economic impact, directly supporting 46,798 permanent jobs and providing livelihood support for more than 187,000 dependents, Hortgro noted in the assessment.
Apples lead South African pome fruit growth
Apple production reached 1.39 million tons in 2025, with 49 percent destined for export. Despite a slight five percent decrease in overall volume, gross value rose by nine percent to a reported record of about $869 million, spearheading growth for the South African pome fruit sector in 2025.
Royal Gala remained the most widely cultivated apple, covering 19 percent of planted acreage. Golden Delicious follows at 16 percent, although its area has declined from 13,181 acres in 2020. Cripps Pink and Pink Lady accounted for 14 percent, while Granny Smith and Fuji accounted for 12 percent and nine percent, respectively.
Photo by Marek Studzinski via Unsplash.
Bigbucks, marketed as Flash Gala, covered 2,985 acres, or five percent of the national apple area. Hortgro reported continued planting interest in the variety, particularly in younger orchards.
South African apple exports totaled 49.55 million 27.6-pound-equivalent cartons that passed inspection. Far East and Asian markets accounted for 29 percent of export destinations, followed by Africa at 28 percent, the United Kingdom at 14 percent and the Middle East at 11 percent.
Pear production rebounds
Pear production increased 20 percent year-on-year to 633,014 tons in 2025, according to Hortgro. Exports accounted for 50 percent of production, while processing represented 218,656 short tons. The local fresh market took 81,698 short tons, and 14,282 short tons went to drying.
Pear acreage remained stable at 31,873 acres. Ceres accounted for 38 percent of the national planted area, with 12,122 acres and 7.26 million trees. Langkloof East followed with 4,020 acres, while Groenland accounted for 3,819 acres.
South African pome fruit season kicks off early with promising quality, despite hail and logistics issues
Photo by Phonenix Han via Unsplash.
Packham’s Triumph and Forelle each represented 31 percent of planted pear acreage, at 10,024 acres and 9,878 acres, respectively. Williams Bon Chretien accounted for 15 percent, or 4,788 acres, with Hortgro identifying processing and canning as key markets for the variety. Abate Fetel, Rosemarie, and Cheeky each represented five percent.
Pear exports reached 23.09 million 27.6-pound-equivalent cartons. Europe accounted for 29 percent of export markets, followed by the Middle East at 21 percent, Far East and Asia at 20 percent, and Russia at 16 percent.
Hortgro reported total pear production value of about $356 million and an average export net realization of about $1,018 per ton.
South Africa ranked as the Southern Hemisphere’s largest apple exporter in 2025, with 751,946 short tons exported, ahead of Chile and New Zealand.
For pears, the report also placed South Africa among the leading Southern Hemisphere exporters, with 330,920 short tons exported. Hortgro said South Africa ranked fourth globally for pear production and fourth for pear exports.
*All images are referential | Main image by Ryan Liu via Unsplash.
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