Subtropical fruit is categorised as fleshy fruit (bananas, avocados, litchis, kiwi fruit, mangoes, guavas, pineapples, papayas and granadillas) and nuts (cashew, macadamia, pecan, almonds and walnuts) that grow in subtropical climates.
The main production areas in South Africa are Limpopo, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal, according to the department of agriculture, land reform and rural development. Other fruit types such as granadillas, guavas and pineapples are also grown in the Western Cape and the Eastern Cape, respectively.
While it is possible to only farm with one subtropical fruit on your farm, Theuns Botha of Lapland Farm in Tzaneen, Limpopo, chose to farm with three: avocados, mangoes and litchis.
“If you start from scratch as a young farmer, the problem is to get a decent farm,” says Botha. “Farm prices now are very, very expensive. It’s going to be very difficult, but if you have some help, there’s definitely money to be made in the subtropical fruit business.”
With Botha’s industry knowledge, we have compiled a guide on how to farm with subtropical fruits in Mzansi. Here is your quick guide to farming with avocados, mangoes and litchis:
1. Avocados
South Africa is an important producer and exporter of avocados in the world, according to the South African Avocado Growers Association. Mzansi is a big exporter of avocados, since we can supply avocados from the southern hemisphere when production in the northern hemisphere is limited. And with the local market growing steadily, you can’t go wrong with this crop.
But, while it is a lucrative crop with a high market value, it is expensive to start up.
“From soil prep plus irrigation, everything including the trees – we’re talking about R110 000 per hectare,” says Botha.
This is his ball-park estimate for getting your avocado trees planted in the soil, ready to go with irrigation.
“That’s up and above what you pay for the farm,” Botha points out. “This is to develop one hectare for farming.”
After establishing your farm and crops, then you carry on every year with other expenses.
“Your fertiliser programme for avocado is much more expensive than for mango,” says Botha. “On an avocado farm we’re talking about twelve to fourteen thousand rand per hectare for your big, fruit producing trees.”
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Finding the right farm and market
Botha emphasises the importance of finding an appropriate farm for avocados.
“If you want to buy a farm, you must go and look if you are in an early producing area, or a late area,” Botha begins. “Meaning, if you start picking avocados will you be earlier than the rest or are you going to be later than the rest?”
Botha’s farm Lapland is in the Lowveld, where it gets a bit hotter and the avocados produce earlier in the year.
“So, our market is in the early cultivars,” he explains. “Early cultivars like Fuerte, Carmen and Hass – that’s where our niche market is.”
“If you are in a late area, like up in Magoebaskloof, then you will go for late cultivars and the end of the market segment,” Botha says. “And there you will make your money.”
On the other hand, if you don’t choose a farm in a climate suitable for early or late cultivars, your fruits won’t be early or late.
“Then you’re in a difficult position,” says Botha. “Because then you’re in the middle when everyone starts picking and the prices are not necessarily so good on the exports, and also on the local markets.”
“The export market for avocados is good,” Botha says.
The early producing avocado cultivars are mostly sold locally as ripe-and-ready for local markets. Being early in the season means you can get a good price, and have little competition.
Cultivars that produce a bit later in the season (still early season) get exported.
“Because we are still in the early season, we achieve good export prices,” Botha says.
2. Mangoes
Mangoes are typically tropical fruits, but also fare well in Mzansi’s subtropical regions. This delicious fruit is a wonderful crop to farm with, as it can be sold fresh or processed in a variety of ways.
“A lot of our mangoes go to drying, which is also a good outlet for the fruit that are too big, or have sunburn,” says Botha. “Also, a bit goes to juice, so nothing gets thrown away.”
Mangoes are also a bit cheaper to get up and running than avocados, according to Botha. “Mangoes are more around R60 000 per hectare to get going,” he says.
And mango again is the cheaper option when looking at fertiliser programmes “We’re looking at about three or four thousand rand per hectare for fertilisation on the mangoes,” Botha says.
Finding the right farm and market
When it comes to soil needed on the farm, there are plenty of factors to consider. The best place to plant mangoes is on a moderate slope, and in soil that drains well. Another part of soil preparation can include adding lime and phosphate to the root area (and checking that the calcium levels in the soil are sufficient).
Mangoes are a good crop to farm with, but the export markets could be difficult to break into. Botha mentions that the export market for mangoes was very good a few years ago. “But it’s not so good anymore,” he says. “We’ve got a lot of competition from overseas.”
So rather than exporting, Botha chooses to sell local with a direct marketing strategy. “We do a lot of local and direct marketing,” Botha explains. “We don’t just put mangoes on the open market, we have supermarket contracts.”
But this all depends on the mango cultivar you have chosen to farm with. There are many different cultivars, all with different quality of produce, disease resistance, as well as local and international demand.
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3. Litchis
Although a small producer compared to the volumes produced by China, South Africa’s litchi production contributes to an important supply of southern hemisphere fruit to markets in the European winter. Litchi is also the fifth largest subtropical crop in Limpopo after mango, avocados, macadamias and bananas.
Agribook lists Mpumalanga as the leader in litchi production. The most important production areas for litchis are Malelane, Nelspruit, Trichardsdal, Tzaneen, Makhado, Levubu and the South Coast of KwaZulu-Natal.
This is another subtropical fruit that cannot tolerate frost, but loves high rainfall and humidity.
“We do litchis on the side-line,” says Botha. As this is not their most important crop, and the export market is difficult to get into, the Lapland litchis usually only get sold in the local market.
The main litchi cultivars planted in South Africa are Mauritius and McLean’s Red. The South African litchi growers’ association lists the different cultivars, along with their compositions and harvest periods.
Some more advice on starting a subtropical fruit farm
One of the most important choices you can make, according to Botha, is getting a farm in the right place, with the water and soil you require.
“If you are a new farmer and you want to start fresh, get a farm in the right area,” he says. “And don’t go and buy the first farm you get, make sure you have enough water.”
“Because that’s the next thing,” he continues. “People buy farms and want to plant 30 hectares of avocado and see they only have enough water for five hectares, because avocados require more water than mangoes.” The available water on the farm will determine how many hectares you can plant, he says.
You also have to assess how cold the farm gets, as subtropical fruit do not tolerate frost well. “If you get frost in the winter, you lose a lot of production on poor pollination and poor fruit set,” Botha says.
These are all the things you must look at when obtaining a farm. All of this impacts the feasibility of making a success with your subtropical fruit farm.
Lastly, you should join the avocado, mango and litchi growers’ associations. Subtrop manages the affairs of the South African avocado, litchi and mango growers’ associations. Botha says they do a lot of research and study groups where you can pick up new skills and hear of new products and research that’s coming through.
“It’s important to join them,” says Botha. “Then you have access to all this knowledge.”
- The ARC-Tropical and Subtropical Crops is involved with community-based subtropical fruit projects aimed at increasing the production of high-quality fruit and developing technological and business skills. One of its core objectives is to facilitate black farmers’ entry and participation in the fruit industry.
