Market Report Week 20 - 2025

Update on the GCC countries

The Middle East market is showing strong performance across all citrus varieties and apples. However, pears are facing challenges, with slow sales and declining price levels.

1.00 USD = 3.67 AED (Emirate Dirham)

1.00 USD = 3.75 SAD (Saudi Riyals)

1.00 USD = 121.50 BDT (Bangladeshi Taka)

1.00 USD = 85.65 INR (Indian Rupees)

1.00 USD = 18.05 ZAR (South African Rand)

Citrus
Pome
Grape, Stone & Kiwi Fruit
India & Bangladesh
PPECB Statistics

Citrus

The Eastern Cape is packing soft citrus and lemons. The packing of the first navels has started with limited volumes being packed.

In the Northern areas, all grapefruit producers are still actively packing Star Ruby. The total crop is now projected to be lower than the initial estimate, resulting in larger fruit sizes.

Soft citrus harvesting has commenced, with Leanri, Tango, and Royal Honey Murcott (RHM) varieties currently being picked for export.

Lemon harvesting has shifted to the Senwes region (Groblersdal and Marble Hall), while small volumes continue to come from the northern areas.

The first Turkey Valencias have already been packed, marking an earlier start compared to last year.

Market update

All citrus varieties continue to perform well. However, prices for Egyptian Valencias began to decline during the week due to an oversupply, as larger volumes were shipped when prices were high. The market is expected to recover in the next 10 days as volumes decrease, and conditions stabilize.

The first shipments of South African soft citrus have arrived on the market, although volumes remain limited. Currently, China is the only other supplier, nearing the end of its season. The quality of Chinese mandarins is excellent, with notably sweet fruit. Given this, China is expected to become a strong competitor to Spain and Morocco in upcoming seasons who will have supply at the same time.

Market Prices (Dubai, Kuwait and Jeddah)

Pome

Pome fruit

Middle East – Export volumes of apples from South Africa to the Middle East have decreased by 8% compared to the same period last season.

Market update

Demand for Royal Gala apples is gaining momentum and is expected to strengthen further in the coming weeks, driven by reduced availability.

Pears continue to face pressure, with sluggish market movement and declining price levels.

Market Prices (Dubai, Kuwait and Jeddah)

Grape, Stone, Kiwi Fruit

Grapes – Market Update

No report.

Kiwi fruit

Only old-season kiwifruit from Iran is currently available in the market, with no arrivals from Chile yet. The new Iranian kiwifruit season is expected to begin around August this year.