Industry body Citrus Growers' Association of Southern Africa (CGA) says the 2026 citrus season has become a uniquely challenging one for Southern African citrus growers.
After a recent meeting of the orange variety focus group, the export estimates for Valencia and Navel Oranges have been lowered to 58-million 15 kg cartons and 24.3-million 15 kg cartons, respectively, which marks a reduction of about 8% and 19% from the opening season estimates, respectively.
Members of the focus group noted that further reductions to the export estimate will be made if current market conditions do not hold.
The total export estimate for the citrus season across all varieties now stands at 197.9-million 15 kg cartons.
In April the original estimate for the season was 209.4-million 15 kg cartons.
