Horticulture refers to the production of crops like fruits, vegetables, nuts, ornamental plants and flowers.
Fresh fruit accounts for 35% of South Africa’s agricultural exports (FPEF, 2024). Of this, citrus fruit makes up 54%; South Africa is the world’s second largest exporter of citrus. Pome and stone fruit make up 22% of fruit exported, again SA is a significant global player (get stats on the deciduous fruit page). Table grapes (16% of fruit exports) is also a deciduous fruit but given its own page on this website. Subtropical fruit like avocados is also an earner of foreign currency. Berries have been the “fastest growing fruit industry in South Africa” (BFAP, 2022) and share a page with exotic fruit on this website. Olives have high growth potential and create jobs.
Macadamia nuts and pecan nuts are the biggest tree nuts crops here, and South Africa is the world’s largest producer of macadamias. See our “Macadamia nuts” and “Tree nuts” pages.
Onions, butternut, sweet potatoes, and pumpkins are the top exported vegetables (FPEF, 2024). Potatoes, which has its own page on the website, is the major vegetable crop grown in South Africa (please find it in the agronomy section). Although vegetables are not a major horticultural export, they play an indispensable role in food security.
One of the favourite pages on the Agribook website is “Indigenous food crops“, which we include here.
“Cut flowers” and “Floriculture and nursery crops” complete the horticulture section.
