• Agricultural exports rose 10% to US$4.1 billion in the second quarter
• Africa bought an estimated US$1.64 billion of South African agricultural products
• Wheat, rice, palm oil and poultry kept agricultural imports at US$2 billion

Harare  — South Africa recorded a US$2.1 billion agricultural trade surplus in the second quarter of 2026 as exports rose 10% from a year earlier to US$4.1 billion, supported by larger harvests, higher export volumes and firmer commodity prices, according to Agbiz analysis of Trade Map data.

The second-quarter performance lifted agricultural exports to US$7.8 billion in the first half of 2026, up 11% from the corresponding period last year. Agricultural imports amounted to US$2 billion during the quarter, up 12% year on year, bringing the first-half import bill to US$3.9 billion.

The export result places agriculture among South Africa’s major foreign-currency earning sectors at a time when the wider economy contracted by 0.2% in the second quarter. It also shows the different roles played by South Africa’s export and import food systems. Fruit, wine, maize, wool, sugar, nuts and processed products generated the surplus, while wheat, rice, palm oil, poultry and whisky sustained the import bill.

Africa remained South Africa’s largest agricultural market, accounting for 40% of second-quarter export value. That represents about US$1.64 billion of the US$4.1 billion total and exceeded the combined value of shipments to the European Union and the Americas.

The regional export basket was weighted towards food and household products. Maize, apples and pears, processed foods, sugar, fruit juices, soybean oil, wine and sunflower oil led sales into African markets. The mix places South African agriculture within the regional food supply chain, extending beyond premium fresh produce into staple grains, edible oils and processed consumer goods.

Asia and the Middle East accounted for 24% of agricultural export value, or about US$984 million, while the European Union took 21%, worth around US$861 million. Citrus, apples and pears, wine, nuts, wool, berries, maize, sugar, mutton and beef featured across these markets.

The Americas accounted for 5% of second-quarter agricultural exports, or roughly US$205 million. Within that total, exports to the United States reached US$123 million, up 56% from the first quarter as lower tariffs and the seasonal availability of citrus increased shipments. The US figure remained 25% below the second quarter of 2025, when exporters used the temporary tariff pause to move larger volumes.

The United States accounts for a limited share of South Africa’s overall agricultural exports, although its importance is concentrated in citrus, grapes, wine and fruit juice. These products support specialised farms, packhouses, cold-chain operators and export corridors, leaving the effect of tariff changes uneven across the farming sector.

South Africa’s export performance is also closely tied to a stronger grain harvest. The Crop Estimates Committee placed the 2026 maize harvest at 17.4 million tonnes in August, up 4.5% from 16.65 million tonnes in the prior season. The crop comprises 9.49 million tonnes of white maize, used mainly for human consumption, and 7.91 million tonnes of yellow maize for animal feed.

The larger harvest supports domestic supply and export availability into African markets. The United States Department of Agriculture forecasts South African maize exports of 1.8 million tonnes in the 2025/26 marketing year. Grain trade carries regional significance because maize is a major food-security product for Southern African consumers and a key input for livestock and poultry producers.

Horticulture remains central to the higher-value export system. Citrus, apples and pears, grapes, avocados, mangoes, nuts, dates, figs, pineapples and fruit juices featured in the second-quarter export basket, alongside wine and wool. The citrus industry revised its 2026 export forecast to 205.3 million 15kg cartons from an earlier 209.4 million-carton estimate, preserving a large export season despite production and market disruptions.

Port performance shapes the value retained from that crop. Fresh produce requires tightly managed cold chains and short transit periods from packhouse to vessel. Delays at the Port of Cape Town raise storage, demurrage and quality-loss costs for exporters, while late delivery can weaken prices in destination markets.

There has been progress at parts of the logistics system. Container-terminal ship turnaround time at Cape Town reportedly declined from 103 hours in 2023/24 to 55 hours year to date in the 2026/27 financial year. Durban and Eastern Cape ports have also recorded improvement from recent operating conditions, reducing friction during the second-quarter export period.

The current export record still sits beside a large agricultural import requirement. South Africa relies on imports for rice and palm oil because domestic climatic conditions limit production. Wheat imports account for about half of annual consumption, while imported poultry supplies around a fifth of domestic requirements.

South Africa imported about 1.8 million tonnes of wheat between October 2025 and early September 2026. The purchases underline the structural difference between the country’s export strength in horticulture, maize, wine and processed products and its continuing exposure to global prices, freight and exchange-rate movements in grains and edible oils.

The US$2.1 billion second-quarter agricultural surplus therefore measures more than export growth. It shows that South Africa is supplying food, beverages and agricultural inputs across African markets while using international trade to meet domestic gaps in wheat, rice, palm oil and poultry.

Agriculture employed 944,000 people in the second quarter, down 16,000 from the preceding quarter and 4.3% above the level a year earlier. The employment movement places further weight on the ability of exporters to maintain volumes through ports, preserve market access and earn prices that support farm production, packing and logistics activity.

The second half of 2026 will provide the next tests. Maize export volumes, citrus shipments, Cape Town port turnaround times, US tariff treatment, agricultural import costs and trade with African markets will establish whether the first-half surplus carries into the remainder of the year.

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