South African fresh fruit export to USA is likely to increase

South Africa's exports of fresh fruit to the US had almost doubled since 2002 to US$67 million in 2006, US ambassador to SA Eric Bost said in April. And the market was expected to grow as Americans were being encouraged to switch to a healthier diet. However, he warned that some members of Congress were questioning why South African fruit was coming into the US duty free under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGO) , when South Africa, with its strong economy and budget surplus, was "no longer a developing country but now a developed one."
Stuart Symington, the chief executive of the Fresh Produce Exporters' Forum, said the US market still accounted for less than 1 percent of South African fruit exports, with Chile exporting four times as much to the US because of its proximity to the market. The UK and continental Europe were still the main markets for South African fruit, and the current dollar weakness made it more profitable to earn pounds sterling and euros for exports.

Exports to mainland China, unofficially through Hong Kong and officially through ports in South China, were higher than to the US at about 1.5 million cartons of citrus and grapes. South Africa had officially been exporting citrus to China for 10 years and had been given official permission to export table grapes about a year ago. However, it was hard to forecast which of the two markets had the greatest potential to grow. China had a larger population, but a smaller percentage was likely to be able to afford imported fruit than was the case in the US.