Varieties
Not every South African variety belongs on a boat to India. These are the ones that do, and the reasons why.
Deep colour, high sugar, and a rind that holds up to handling — which is why it travels. Seedless when grown in isolation from cross-pollinating varieties. The reference late soft citrus for export, and the one Indian premium retail asks for by name.
A seedless selection with a reputation for consistency in size and internal quality. Performed on quality in the Indian market in 2025 even when pricing collapsed around it.
Reported as the strongest-performing single line among South African arrivals in India. Earlier than Nadorcott, which makes it the variety that opens the window rather than filling it.
Easy-peeling and sweet, but thinner-skinned than the late mandarins and less tolerant of a long voyage plus cold treatment. Better suited to shorter routes unless the cold chain is unbroken.
The strongest-performing South African orange in the Indian market in 2025, clearing ahead of the competing Valencias around it. Large, low-seeded and juicy, with a long hang time that lets a grower hold for the window.
High juice content and a rind that resists breakdown in transit, which is what makes it the workhorse export orange. Competes directly against Egyptian fruit in India, which lands cheaper — so it sells on arrival condition, not price.
Sweet, seedless and easy to peel. Excellent eating fruit, but navels are more sensitive to extended cold storage than Valencias, so they need a tighter voyage.
The widest export window of any South African citrus, and a reliable secondary line into India where lemons rank behind mandarins but ahead of grapefruit in demand. Eastern Cape is the dominant producing region at 43% of national lemon area.
Strong colour and high juice content. The smallest of the four categories by volume and the thinnest demand in India, so we treat it as a fill line rather than a programme in its own right. Overwhelmingly a Limpopo crop, at around 60% of national area.
Industry figures are the most recent published at the time of writing and are indicative, not a warranty.
