"Apples are trading at around 20% higher than usual," says a trader at the Tshwane municipal market. His reaction to an econo bag (1.5kg) of Top Red apples selling for R56 (€3.3)? "That's totally in line with current prices: they paid around R45 for that on the market." He explains: "Farmers are selectively opening the Controlled Atmosphere rooms. Many have recently opened their Golden [Delicious] rooms and are holding tight to their red apples until December. You always find more Golden apples during November, and then red apples become very expensive."
Apples, across all categories, are trading at over R10 per kilogram, doubling in price over less than a decade. When the new harvest starts in January, prices are expected to drop somewhat.
© Carolize Jansen | FreshPlaza.com
"Strong apple juice prices and a successful export season, as product is moving well with lower EU cold storage stocks, have reduced domestic supply, driving up local market prices," note the authors of the Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy (BFAP) in their monthly food inflation brief of October 2025.
"Apples [are] currently commanding elevated prices. Strong juice prices and low risk for processors occasionally limit fresh supply to the local market. Apple prices rose to over R13/kg, a 4% increase month-on-month and 12% higher year-on-year. "
© AMTrends
Apple prices over the past five years, collated by AMTrends, clearly show the increase
Apples are no longer an inexpensive fruit, the trader adds. "If you look at what we were selling last year this time: an 18kg box of Cripps Red sold for approximately R200 [€11.6], around R25 [€1.45] for an econo bag. Now, the same time a year later, it's between R30 and R35 [€2] for that same bag."
The export market requires the same sizes that local buyers like, a "nice medium apple", he says, of counts 120 and 135.
Same on pears, he adds. "We received our last pears, Packhams, a few weeks ago. Exports are drawing away a lot of the apples and the pears, especially Forelles."
© Carolize Jansen | FreshPlaza.com
