South Africa: Fresh Deciduous Fruit Semi-annual
Link to report:
The production of apples and table grapes is estimated to grow in the 2019/20 Marketing Year (MY), due to the increase in area planted and available irrigation water following improved 2019 winter rainfall. The impact of COVID-19 on production is expected to be minimal or nil as harvesting is almost complete. However, decreases in apple and pear exports are expected in the 2019/20 MY, due to the impact of COVID-19 on global demand, bottlenecks or closures at some ports, limited availability of containers and constrained shipping capacity. South Africa is self-sufficient and only imports small quantities of deciduous fruits to fulfill niche markets or to satisfy demand during the off-season when supply is limited. Due to phytosanitary restrictions, the United States only has limited market access to export apples from areas that are free of Rhagoletis pomonella (apple maggot). Negotiations are ongoing to expand this market access to include areas regulated for apple maggot in the United States.
