South Africa’s agricultural exports rose by 10% in the second quarter of 2026 to US$4.1 billion, extending what Presidential Envoy on Agriculture and Land Wandile Sihlobo described as a strong performance by the country’s farming sector during the first half of the year.
Sihlobo, commenting on the latest trade figures on his X platform, said the second-quarter performance followed a strong first quarter and pushed agricultural exports for the first six months of 2026 to US$7.8 billion.
“That is up 11% from the first half of 2025,” Sihlobo said, describing the export performance as “fairly well” so far this year.
The export basket remained diversified, with fruits accounting for a significant share of shipments. Sihlobo said South Africa exported a wide range of fruit, including citrus, apples, pears, dates, pineapples, avocados, guavas and mangoes.
Other major agricultural exports included maize, wine, wool and meat, particularly mutton, which continued to reach a range of international markets.
However, beef exports remained constrained by the country’s struggle with foot-and-mouth disease (FMD). Sihlobo said South Africa was continuing with vaccination efforts and that markets were gradually reopening in some areas.
“We are not seeing a lot of beef this time around. Part of the reason is the fact that we are still struggling with the foot and mouth disease,” he said.
Despite the disease-related challenges, the overall export performance benefited from strong production and continued demand in several markets.
South Africa’s export destinations
Africa remained the leading destination for South African agricultural products, accounting for about 40% of total agricultural exports in the second quarter.
Among the products shipped to other African markets were maize, apples, pears, citrus, sugar and processed foods.
Asia and the Middle East combined represented the second-largest market, accounting for about 24% of South Africa’s agricultural exports. The region took products including mutton, fruit and wine.
Sihlobo said exports to the Middle East alone increased by 1% to about US$332 million during the quarter, despite concerns over the impact of ongoing conflict and disruptions in the region.
“I was surprised to see that South African agricultural exports to the Middle East specifically, they actually increased by 1% around US$332 million,” he said.
The European Union remained the third-largest regional market, accounting for about 21% of agricultural exports during the quarter, with fruits and wine among the main products shipped there.
Exports to the Americas, including the United States and Canada, were relatively stable and accounted for about 5% of the total.
The United States market, however, recorded particularly strong growth. South African agricultural exports to the US increased by 56% in the second quarter compared with the first quarter.
Sihlobo attributed the increase partly to lower tariffs and the availability of citrus and other products for export to the US market.
“I do think that the movement of the tariffs or adjustment from 30% to 12.5% helped a lot in making sure that we continue to enjoy greater market access within the US market,” he said.
South Africa’s agricultural imports
At the same time, South Africa continued to import significant quantities of agricultural commodities. Agricultural imports stood at about US$2 billion in the second quarter, an increase of 12% from the same period in 2025.
The main imports included wheat, rice, palm oil and poultry. Sihlobo noted that South Africa produces some of these commodities domestically but remains dependent on imports to meet consumption needs.
The strong export performance resulted in an agricultural trade surplus of about US$2.1 billion during the quarter, up 9% from the same period a year earlier.
Sihlobo said the figures reflected South Africa’s export-oriented agricultural economy, noting that about half of what the country produces is exported.
“The second quarter of this year shows that we continue to hold fairly strong in a number of markets,” he said.
He added that the challenge now was to retain existing markets while expanding into new destinations.
“It’s about then now, how do we keep and maintain these markets? But at the same time, how do we widen to new export markets?” Sihlobo said.
Search for new markets and trade negotiations
He identified the search for new markets and the negotiation of free trade agreements as key policy priorities, while stressing that greater regional integration would require addressing trade challenges within Southern Africa.
Sihlobo also pointed to logistics as an important factor in sustaining export growth, particularly the efficiency of ports. He said improvements at Durban and in the Eastern Cape were encouraging but called for continued cooperation between business and Transnet to improve port performance.
Looking ahead, he said South Africa’s strong export showing was underpinned not only by market access but also by an excellent production season.
“The core of it is the fact that even on production level, we’ve had quite an excellent season,” Sihlobo said, noting continued growth in the agricultural sector.
