In the Middle East, South African apples have been sold at much higher prices due to the demand, coupled with no competition. “If you take 2025, NH apple volumes in the markets were at a very low level as South Africa entered the markets,” says a South African exporter of topfruit and citrus to the Near and Far East who requests anonymity.

In the usual scheme of things the Middle East is an early export market for South African citrus, often occupying the some space as the last of the Northern hemisphere’s fruit. The industry has almost come to expect that the market would receive an oversupply and that prices would consequently crash.

So far, 2025 is set to follow a different trajectory.

“Middle East countries have been relatively empty of fruit from the Northern hemisphere as the Southern hemisphere growers start with their new season fruit. This kind of situation means immediate sales, zero storage costs, faster payments, and faster collection,” he explains.

To read the full article, please visit The season in which the Middle Eastern fruit market doesn’t crash Published on May 21, 2025.