SA citrus overtakes Spain: the lesson for Zambia

Analysis

JOHANNESBURG — South African citrus is now the world's top export in its category, past Spain, and the system behind it is the agri-export playbook Zambia keeps half-running.

Daily Maverick reports the South African citrus sector has overtaken Spain to become the world's top exporter, on the back of variety investment, cold-chain logistics and sustained market-access diplomacy. The read here for Zambia: agriculture is the second-largest employer in the country, yet the export base stays narrow. The South African route is the most directly relevant model on the continent.

What South Africa actually did

Three moves built the position. The first is variety: South African growers invested in newer, higher-margin citrus cultivars — soft citrus, late-season navels, premium lemons — that command better prices in Europe and Asia than commodity oranges. The second is the cold chain: a port-to-shelf refrigeration and logistics system that keeps fruit export-grade across a six-week shipping window.

The third is market access. Research from the citrus industry shows the sector's growth tracks the opening of phytosanitary protocols — the technical agreements that let fruit cross a border without quarantine delays. The data demonstrates that each new protocol with China, India or a Gulf market added measurable export volume. Market access, in other words, is diplomacy executed at the level of pest-control certificates.

The citrus sector delivers a juicy economic boost, overtaking Spain as the world's leading exporter.

— Daily Maverick, SA citrus sector delivers juicy economic boost, 19 May 2026

Where Zambian agriculture stands

Zambian agriculture is dominated by maize for domestic consumption, with tobacco, sugar, cotton and a growing horticulture segment making up the export base. The data shows the country has the land, the water in the northern catchments and the labour for a far broader export mix. What it lacks is the system: consistent cold chain, aggregated smallholder volume, and the phytosanitary diplomacy that opens premium markets.

Analysis of the Ministry of Agriculture's diversification programme demonstrates the intent is there. The Farmer Input Support Programme, the push into blueberries and avocados, and the Zambia Development Agency's export-promotion mandate all point the same way. Evidence from the rollout shows the binding constraint is not policy ambition — it is the logistics and certification spine that turns a crop into a shipped, paid-for export.

The data also shows a financing gap. Smallholders need working capital to bridge the months between planting an export crop and being paid for it. South Africa solved that bridge through grower cooperatives and packhouse credit. Zambia has the cooperatives; it has not yet wired them to export-grade packhouses at scale.

What Zambia could copy now

Three practical reads. The first is crop selection: Zambia's blueberry and avocado push already targets high-margin export categories, mirroring the South African logic of value over volume. The second is aggregation: smallholder volume only reaches export grade when it is pooled, graded and packed to a single standard, which is an institutional build, not a farming one.

The third is the certification spine. Research from regional trade bodies shows the single highest-leverage public investment is phytosanitary capacity — the laboratories, inspectors and bilateral protocols that let Zambian produce clear a foreign border. Evidence from the South African experience demonstrates this is where a government can move the needle faster than through subsidies, because it unlocks demand that already exists.

Frequently Asked Questions

These are the questions Zambian farmers, exporters and policymakers have been asking about the South African citrus milestone and what it teaches. Short answers follow, drawn from Daily Maverick reporting and agricultural-trade research.

What is driving South Africa's citrus success?

In short, three things: high-margin varieties, cold-chain logistics and market-access diplomacy. The answer is that the fruit itself is the easy part; the system that gets it export-grade and through a foreign border is the achievement. The key is that all three were built over two decades, not one season.

How does this apply to Zambia?

Simply put, Zambia has the land, water and labour but a thinner export system. Research from the Ministry of Agriculture shows diversification into blueberries and avocados is underway. The data shows the constraint is logistics and certification, not crops.

Why is market access so important?

The answer is that demand only counts if produce can cross the border. In other words, phytosanitary protocols — the technical pest-control agreements between countries — are what turn a willing buyer into an actual shipment. Evidence from South Africa shows each new protocol added measurable export volume.

Who leads agri-export policy in Zambia?

The key is two bodies. According to public mandates, the Ministry of Agriculture sets crop and input policy while the Zambia Development Agency runs export promotion. Research from the diversification programme shows coordination between the two is the live institutional question.

How can Zambian smallholders reach export markets?

Analysis of successful African horticulture shows aggregation is the route — pooling smallholder output, grading it to one standard and packing it for a single buyer. Evidence from the South African and Kenyan models demonstrates that without aggregation, individual smallholders cannot meet export volume or consistency requirements.

What to watch

Two signals over the next year. The first is whether Zambia's blueberry and avocado exports clear new phytosanitary protocols into Gulf or Asian markets. The second is investment in cold-chain capacity at the Lusaka and Ndola logistics hubs — the physical spine that determines whether the crop diversification translates into export earnings.

Sources

Daily Maverick: SA citrus sector overtakes Spain as world's leading exporter. Ministry of Agriculture, Zambia. Zambia Development Agency.