When does South Africa export apples?

South Africa ships apples March–June, with February and July at the shoulders. These are export weeks out of the origin, not arrival weeks in your market.

When do South Africa apples arrive in Europe?

On the South Africa → United Kingdom run, quoted at 16–22 days port to port, that window lands around week 11–29 — March–July. Add the road leg at either end.

South Africa apple export season (2026)

South Africa apple export season

South Africa ships apples March–June, with February and July at the shoulders. Lands March–July on the South Africa → United Kingdom run.

Ships

March–June

February, July at the shoulders

Lands

week 11–29

on the South Africa → United Kingdom run, 16–22 days

South Africa apples: the export window by month, and the weeks each lane lands it.
Stage	Month J F M A M J J A S O N D
Ships out of South Africa	Ships march–june peak · february, july shoulder
South Africa → United Kingdom 16–22 days · week 11–29	Lands week 11–29 on the South Africa → United Kingdom run

Peak Shoulder Landing Port to port, across services rather than one schedule. Add the road leg at either end.

Varieties Gala, Granny Smith, Golden Delicious Load ports Cape Town, Durban, and Gqeberha

Roughly February to July out of the Western Cape, shipping from storage well past the harvest.

South African apples reach Europe in about half the transit a Chilean container needs, which changes the arithmetic on a stored crop: the same fruit arrives with more life in hand for less freight, and that is most of why the UK trade leans this way.

Last reviewed August 2026. Editorial ranges for a normal year, not a published schedule. Weather moves them, sometimes by weeks.

Importing apples out of South Africa? Trackberry tracks those containers and reads the paperwork that arrives with them, in one place. Book a 20-minute chat.

South Africa apple export season

Also out of South Africa

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