Fruit and vegetable juices

Introduction

Find information on the production process and FAQs at www.safja.co.za, website of the South African Fruit Juice Association.

Fruit and vegetable juice are drinks produced by squeezing or crushing fruit and vegetables.

The market can be categorised as fruits, vegetable, and mixed. Fruits are divided into mango, apple, guava, pomegranate, grape, orange, lemon, pineapple, and others. Orange Juice continues to be the most preferred juice. Vegetables are divided into carrot, beetroot, tomato, pumpkin and others (Insight Survey, 2023).

In South Africa, there are specific regulations relating to fruit juice and what they may contain in terms of additives and preservatives, and that sets the definition for what a fruit juice must be called, based on its composition:
 
  • Fruit drinks – a minimum pure fruit juice content of 6%.
  • Carbonated fruit drinks – in addition to carbonation effects these should provide nutritional elements of the fruit along with natural pigments and flavour.
  • Nectar – should include a minimum of 12.5% to 50% pure fruit juice content, depending on the type of fruit used. For instance, orange nectar requires a minimum of 50% pure orange juice and lemon nectar a minimum of 12.5% pure juice.
  • Pure fruit juice is classified into two sub-categories, unsweetened fruit juice, which includes 100% pure fruit juice and sweetened fruit juice, which comprises 70-90% pure juice, depending on the type of fruit used in the juice e.g. lemon – 70% minimum pure lemon juice, orange – 90% pure orange juice).
Source: The South African Juice Industry Landscape Report and www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196/168/98731.html

International business environment

The global Juice market (including Fruit and Vegetable Juice) was valued at USD 193.5 billion in 2024, and is estimated to reach a value of approximately USD 260.5 billion in 2033. The market is anticipated to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.6% (Verified Market Reports, 2025).

Orange juice is included in the monthly “Citrus: World Markets and Trade” from the USDA at https://apps.fas.usda.gov/psdonline/circulars/citrus.pdf

  1. Top producers of orange juice: Brazil, Mexico, US, South Africa, and the EU (USDA, 2025).
  2. Where orange juice domestic consumption is highest: US, EU, China, Brazil and Canada (USDA, 2025).
  3. The top orange juice exporters: Brazil, Mexico, EU, SA, and the US (USDA, 2025).
  4. The top importers of orange juice are the EU, US, China, Canada, and Japan (USDA, 2025).

Further reference:

Local business environment

Growth in the local Juice market is partially due to the increase in mindful consumption within the Juice market, in terms of both personal health and the environment, which has accelerated innovation in the industry (Insight Survey, 2024). Read about the Insight Survey South African Juice Industry Report (2024) at https://insightsurvey.co.za/south-african-fruit-juice-industry-report-industry-specific.

Role players

View the Premium Listings below (scroll down or click on “Premium Listings” on the Table of Contents to the right).

Further reference:

  • Find the associations listed on the “Fruit” page.

Government

  • Also refer to this heading on the general “Agro-processing” page. Other departments of relevance include the Department of Health and the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic).
  • Find information on all Department of Agriculture directorates at www.nda.gov.za. Of relevance to this page are (i) International Trade (ii) Agro-Processing Support and (iii) Sub-directorate Agricultural Product Quality Assurance. 

Equipment and services

Websites and publications

Visit the websites listed earlier on this page.

Some articles

Premium Listings

List your business here.

Standard Listings

Table of Contents

Buy the Book