WANDILE SIHLOBO
The South African farming sector is having another year of mixed fortunes in 2026, much like 2025. Horticulture (fruits and vegetables) and field crops are broadly on a positive footing compared to last year in terms of volumes produced. We see this through the ample harvests of various crops.
But the year is not without challenges. Commodity prices have been broadly under pressure, posing a challenge for farmers who started the season with higher input costs.
The sector also endured severe weather events, starting with floods in the north-eastern regions of South Africa at the start of this year, followed by destructive floods in the Eastern and Western Cape provinces. All these events presented immense costs to the affected farming businesses.
In field crops, the wheat and sugarcane growers face similarly challenging conditions. The low international sugar and wheat prices meant that the domestic market would see more imports, thus putting pressure on local industries that had started the season with higher input costs.
It is for these reasons, amongst other things, that wheat and sugarcane farming have called for an increase in the import tariffs.
With all this taken into account, the field crops and horticulture subsectors still performed well.
The lower food price inflation, which was at 0.6% in July, the lowest level since 2010, is a result of these ample harvests and lower prices. South African households are enjoying this benefit.
The one subsector that has continued to face challenges like the past year is the cattle industry.
Foot-and-mouth disease remains a challenge, although the country is making progress on vaccination. The pork producers also struggled with African swine fever for a period.
But within this livestock subsector, we see positive developments in the poultry industry, which benefited from lower yellow maize and soybean prices, driven by an ample harvest.
Soybeans and yellow maize make up roughly 70% of poultry producers’ input costs, and both declined notably for much of this year, supporting these poultry businesses.
Returning to the citrus industry, several issues persist, including geopolitical tensions, shipping cost disruptions, trade disputes in the EU, and domestic logistics challenges.
They were also among the industries affected by the floods I mentioned in various parts of our country.
But the one aspect I keep emphasising is that we have an industry here that employs over 100 000 people, and its growth is dependent on the expansion of export markets, improvements in port efficiency, and road infrastructure.
We also increasingly need to pay attention to the labour-related issues given the ongoing immigration discourse in the country.
Therefore, focusing on these issues is what would help ensure that, in the long term, we have a growing and sustainable citrus industry. In the past few years, we have made some progress in exports.
As a result, citrus remains South Africa’s leading agricultural export, accounting for 17% of South Africa’s US$15.1 billion in agricultural exports in 2025.
South Africa’s citrus export markets are diverse and span the African continent, Asia, the UK, the Middle East, the Black Sea, Europe, and the Americas, among others.
But we can’t take this for granted; we need to deepen exports to a range of countries across these regions, and ensure that collaboration among Transnet, organised agriculture, and the private sector leads to meaningful and sustainable improvements in port efficiency. This is key to the success of this important sector.
The scientists who gathered at the Citrus Research International (CRI) Symposium in the Drakensberg are doing their best to ensure that we produce high-yielding, excellent citrus cultivars.
Therefore, the government and other stakeholders must continue to do their part to ensure that this high-quality fruit reaches export markets efficiently, so that the South African farming economy remains robust, with citrus as one of the key exportable products.
