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Daily Maverick
12-08-2025
- Business
- Daily Maverick
We'll adjust to the game, says the citrus industry as Tau, Steenhuisen target new markets
A 30% tariff on South African citrus would push up prices by about $4.25 a carton in the US, putting South Africa at risk of losing market share to Chile and Peru, which face only a 10% tariff. According to Hannes de Waal, chief executive of the Sundays River Citrus Company and board member of the Citrus Growers Association, the industry expects a favourable outcome from tariff negotiations with the US — if not now, then soon. 'Citrus and fruit growers are important to this country as job creators and obviously as earners of foreign exchange. We play an important role in the economy. We still expect that there will be a favourable outcome,' he said. 'Nothing stays fixed, you know… Everything is up for negotiation.' The US has imposed a 30% tariff on some South African imports, effective from 7 August 2025, hitting key sectors including agriculture and the automotive industry. De Waal said the tariff would make South African citrus unaffordable to the average American consumer. Some citrus growers contacted by Daily Maverick said they were still bracing for impact, but would count their losses only in the coming weeks. He said the US' shift from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) — a trade programme that gives eligible sub-Saharan African countries preferential access to the US market — to a tariff-based approach had changed the game, but he trusted that the industry would recover and find other ways to survive. 'We will adjust to the game and we will make sure that we can ship citrus to the world.' New markets Speaking at a joint press briefing between the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition and the Department of Agriculture on Tuesday, 12 August 2025, Ministers Parks Tau and John Steenhuisen presented a unified front regarding the efforts being undertaken to maintain existing export markets and develop new opportunities. They said increasing the standard of our citrus quality could expand access to the EU and China, and noted potential new export routes to Japan, Thailand and Vietnam, as well as across Africa. Excusing himself for the pun, Steenhuisen stated that 'the low-hanging fruit would be the ability to redirect citrus that is going to the US'. Despite the pivot toward new export markets, both ministers were clear that negotiations with the US were continuing and that the country remained an important trading partner. 'And when it comes to citrus, both the processing and the quality of the South African offering… I think that the US gets a good deal from South African agriculture,' said Steenhuisen. According to economic data platform Trading Economics, South Africa exported more than $233-million worth of edible fruits, nuts, peel of citrus fruit and melons to the US in 2024. The agriculture department had established a 'high-level negotiation team', said Joylene van Wyk, Steenhuisen's spokesperson. Led by Director-General Mooketsa Ramasodi, it includes Mike Modisane, chief director for Animal Production and Health, and Dr Maanda Rambauli, the director for Plant Health, who will advise on 'sanitary and phytosanitary matters'. A 30% tariff on South African citrus would increase the price of a carton by roughly $4.25. This puts South Africa at risk of losing market share to Chile and Peru, which face a 10% US tariff. South Africa typically exported about seven million cartons of citrus (the equivalent of 100,000 tons) to the US – which was 4% of all South African citrus exports, Van Wyk said. She said that among the negotiation points was that South African citrus was counter-seasonal, meaning its exports did not compete directly with US citrus production. Exemption SA Citrus Growers' Association chief executive Dr Boitshoko Ntshabele reiterated the association's call to the South African government to secure a mutually beneficial trade deal with the US, or an exemption for seasonal fresh produce. 'There are examples where this approach has yielded success,' he said. 'Brazilian orange juice has been exempted from US tariffs. This is good news for citrus in general, and hopefully points towards a precedent for South Africa. 'Quality, fresh South African citrus plays a significant role in ensuring year-round supply of citrus for US consumers, and in avoiding possible citrus price increases in the US. We urge the US to take this into account, as well as the fact that we supply citrus when the US growers themselves are out of season,' Ntshabele said. Accelerating shipments Ntshabele said that as the southern hemisphere's citrus season ended in October, South Africa had passed the middle of the season. This meant local citrus growers had managed to accelerate shipments to the US before the deadline. Ntshabele said this had lessened some of the effects of the tariff on the current season's US exports, but the financial impact on producers would be detrimental next season should a beneficial trade deal not be concluded. He said some growers in the Northern and Western Cape had planted orchards specifically to meet US demand. 'These growers are now deciding whether to divert what is left of their crops to other markets, if possible,' Ntshabele said. 'They can, in certain situations, also choose to absorb the immense financial costs of the tariff, to the detriment of the financial viability of their entire enterprise.' Ntshabele noted that growers would ensure that fruit would not be left to rot or wasted, saying it could go to charity. 'The primary goal of South Africa's citrus growers is to keep their enterprises afloat and their workers employed by selling premium citrus at profitable prices in overseas markets,' Ntshabele said. 'We welcome the support measures announced by the government thus far, but the only way to fully protect everybody in our vulnerable rural communities from big tariff shocks would be to negotiate a deal or exemption urgently,' he said. DM
Daily Maverick
29-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Maverick
Citrus farmers: We are going nowhere
Chamber CEO Denise van Huyssteen set the tone with a keynote address outlining the metro's precarious financial position while also noting the success the chamber had achieved as a result of lobbying. 'South African farmers are going nowhere. We believe in the country and its people.' This statement from Hannes de Waal, the CEO of the Sundays River Citrus Company regarding farmers supposedly moving to the US as refugees, drew loud applause at the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber AGM on Wednesday evening. Despite global volatility, infrastructure failures and a challenging local investment climate, delegates painted a picture of determined — if guarded — resilience. De Waal's statement about farmers came during a panel discussion featuring agri-economist Wandile Sihlobo of Agbiz and Rand Merchant Bank economist John Cairns, moderated by The Herald editor Rochelle de Kock. When De Kock asked whether South Africa should be concerned about farmers leaving, De Waal — speaking from the audience — asked for the mic. He acknowledged that some South Africans were working in agriculture overseas, including in the United States, and that a few had even launched businesses there. But he firmly rejected the idea that this meant local agriculture was in retreat. He said his concerns focused on the rising barriers for young farmers trying to enter the sector. 'The cost of land and water has gone through the roof in the last few decades. That concerns us,' he said. 'So maybe our young farmers will find opportunities like some have found up in Africa. But it's going to take something special to move a big part of South African agriculture out of South Africa. It's not going to happen.' Sihlobo, who recently released a book on agricultural development, agreed with De Waal. Since 1994, he noted, South Africa's agricultural sector had more than doubled in size. 'Exports were sitting at $2-billion in 2000,' he said. 'Last year, they hit $13.7-billion,' he said, adding that employment levels had also risen. 'It's the complete opposite of what you'll see on social media,' he said. Sihlobo acknowledged the challenges South Africa has faced since 1994, but said key indicators like income had improved significantly, noting that South Africans were now 'one-and-a-half' times better off in terms of income. Bringing levity to the discussion, Cairns addressed the so-called Afrikaner 'refugee' narrative with a tongue-in-cheek comment about US President Donald Trump. 'Our president took the famous golfers to the US, but what many people don't realise is that President Trump is a big rugby fan,' he quipped. 'The 2031 Rugby World Cup will be held in the US — that's why President Trump has asked the Afrikaners to move there.' The room erupted in laughter. Earlier in the evening, Chamber CEO Denise van Huyssteen set the tone with a keynote address outlining the metro's precarious financial position while also noting the success the chamber had achieved as a result of lobbying. Van Huyssteen reminded attendees that 73% of the metro's electricity revenue came from businesses — a significant dependency given ongoing supply constraints and the municipality's projected R1.4-billion shortfall. Another key concern she said remained the lack of stable leadership within the municipality. 'There have been 19 city managers mostly in an acting capacity since 2016, of which 15 have been since 2020. She added that the Chamber would continue lobbying across all levels of government for this critical post to be filled. She said that the Chamber's lobbying had already paid off in some key areas, including a recent win on fuel pricing disparities. In the last quarter of 2024 Nelson Mandela Bay was rezoned from coastal to inland, resulting in higher fuel prices. This had since been reversed. 'This saved the local economy an irrecoverable loss of about R50-million a month over that period. This victory really highlights how easy rezoning can happen,' she said. Van Huyssteen also pointed to encouraging developments ahead, including a series of major events set to take place in the Bay in the coming months. Among them is the Naacam Show, a flagship event for the automotive sector, and the SA Automotive Week. DM
