The India programme
A market that opened in August 2026.
After nearly a decade of negotiation, India approved revised export conditions for South African citrus — adding cold treatment options for fruit fly control.
Access
The revised conditions give exporters materially more logistical flexibility than the previous protocol allowed. That is what makes a season-long programme into India practical rather than opportunistic.
South Africa currently holds only a small share of its own citrus exports in India, against a population of 1.47 billion and a production calendar that runs opposite to ours.
Tariffs
Access is no longer the constraint. Duty is.
| Product | Rate |
|---|---|
| Citrus | approx. 25–30% |
| Apples | 50% |
Most-favoured-nation rates. South African exporters do not hold the preferential terms some competitors enjoy, so the tariff is priced in from the start rather than discovered later.
The route
Packhouse to port of discharge
Pack and pre-cool
Fruit packed to count and class at the packhouse, then pulled down to carrying temperature before it moves.
Cold treatment
Applied in transit under the August 2026 protocol, with temperature recorded through the voyage.
Load
Sealed reefer at the port of loading, with the phytosanitary certificate issued against that consignment.
Discharge
Nhava Sheva is the primary entry point and the price reference for the market. Chennai, Cochin and Mundra take smaller single-container volumes.
Why us on this corridor
Southern Season sits inside a group whose other businesses run mining, rail logistics and commodity trading — including siding operations and bulk haulage into the Durban and Richards Bay corridors.
That is deliberate rather than incidental. The disciplines that decide whether a citrus consignment arrives saleable — cold chain, documentation, port execution — are the same disciplines the group already runs at scale in other commodities.
Sources
- FreshFruitPortal — South African citrus exports to India set to expand under new export conditions
- IOL — SA citrus exporters score breakthrough in India, but tariffs remain a major hurdle
- Freight News — India’s 50% tariff puts pressure on SA apple exports
- FreshPlaza — South African citrus steps in as Egypt and China wind down in India
Industry figures are the most recent published at the time of writing and are indicative, not a warranty.