Tens of thousands of jobs on South Africa’s citrus farms at risk if US imposes tariffs

Published

2 months ago

March 23, 2025

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Citrusdal is a seemingly idyllic farming town named after the fruit it grows. Nestled in a valley at the base of the Western Cape’s Cederberg mountains, it’s home to rows and rows of orange and lemon trees.

The tangerines in the orchards are still as green as the leaves. Harvest will come in July and August, then the fruit will be picked and boxed for export to the UK, Europe and the US.

But as tensions heighten between the South African government and Trump’s administration, this vital export may never land on US soil.

South Africa is one of the biggest exporters in the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), a trade agreement providing Sub-Saharan countries with preferential access to US markets through tariff-free imports.

AGOA is due for renewal at the end of September 2025 and is incredibly vulnerable to getting the axe from Mr Trump, as he imposes tariffs on his closest neighbours Canada and Mexico.

Here in Citrusdal, alarms are sounding as market experts recommend South Africa withdraws from AGOA willingly to offset risk, rather than face the storm in September.

Gerrit van der Merwe, chair of the Citrus Growers’ Association and managing director of ALG Estates, says he hopes an adult in the room will make the right decision.

“We take a step back, that’s a hit. Not just on the farmers but on all the community. If we are missing out on prosperity the slack will probably get picked up either by a citrus farmer in Peru or some farmer in Spain,” says Gerrit.

South Africa is the world’s second-largest exporter of citrus after Spain. Though only 9% of South African citrus goes to the US, a complete withdrawal of tariff-free access could impact thousands of jobs.

“AGOA is probably responsible for 35,000 jobs in the citrus industry in South Africa but also indirectly responsible for 25,000 jobs in the US for truck driving, repacking, running cold rooms and that type of thing. We have a 35 to 45% unemployment rate in South Africa. We need wins,” says Gerrit.

A black labourer on the back of a tractor waves as he drives by. On the edges of the farm, workers sit in the backs of farm wagons full of insect-infected oranges they cleared from the trees to keep them healthy.

They are working land that was acquired during the founding years of the Dutch occupation of the Cape from the 17th century and passed down 13 generations to Gerrit and his family.

The racialised legacy of land ownership was entrenched by apartheid rule during South Africa’s mining boom and remains the reality here. White people make up 7% of the population but own more than half the land.

A new land expropriation act signed by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa allows for the government to seize land in the public interest.

The bill is yet to be enacted but has drawn the ire of Mr Trump, who responded with an executive order calling the actions egregious and hateful towards “racially disfavoured landowners” and offered asylum to Afrikaners.

It is reported 67,000 farmers have shown interest in US asylum but Gerrit says that is not an option for the citrus growers in his association.

“I don’t think anybody is taking it seriously. You will always have a fringe in any society of 5 or 10% that will take it up and will carry that flag but most of the people I deal with love South Africa and would like to stay,” he says.

“We do feel a bit isolated about the fear-mongering because we don’t see it on a daily basis. We are not that security conscious on a daily basis.”

He adds: “I’m not exposed to the guys up north and I think that some people are in really tough situations.”

Up north, Wannie Scribante proudly shows us the security set-up protecting his small private farm.

His cameras have AI technology that spots the movement of people, and he shares stills of his black labourers as they work the edges of the farm.

He hasn’t had a single intrusion or theft since he set up the cameras three years ago but still feels threatened by squatters and the risk of land expropriation.

“I’m concerned that this has been pushed by a government that is not honest with us. Why do they write in expropriation without compensation? Then they tell me we’re not going to do that? It is silly to spend so much time on it and do a law if you’re not going to do that,” says Wannie.

Though Wannie does not believe the debunked claims of a white genocide being repeated by Elon Musk, he still appreciates the cover coming from the Oval Office after feeling ignored by the South African government.

“They say why don’t you talk to us? I mean we are trying to and they don’t listen. We don’t even get appointments. Now, suddenly someone else says it and it opens up the conversation of our problems that we have.”

I ask him if white South African farmers are being used to push an agenda.

“Most probably, yes.

“I think President Trump has things he is not happy about – the expropriation law, targeting, things like that – but I don’t think that is his biggest problem. I think his biggest problem is our government’s friendliness with their enemies.

“He is more worried about our ties to Hamas, Iran and China.”

World

British surgeon working in Gaza says it is now ‘a slaughterhouse’ amid Israeli bombardment

Published

4 hours ago

May 18, 2025

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British surgeon working in Gaza says it is now 'a slaughterhouse' amid Israeli bombardment

A British surgeon working in southern Gaza has compared the region to a “slaughterhouse” because of the daily bombardment from Israeli forces.

Dr Tom Potokar, who is based at the European Hospital near Khan Younis in southern Gaza, offered his assessment of Israel’s military offensive after Palestinian health officials reported at least 130 people were killed overnight into Sunday.

Israel Defence Forces (IDF) have confirmed their troops have begun “extensive ground operations throughout the northern and southern Gaza Strip”.

In a video, Dr Potokar said it was “another day of devastation here in Gaza”, adding: “The stories coming from the north… absolutely horrific… particularly around the Indonesian Hospital.”

“I mean, it’s difficult to describe in words what’s happening here… [with the] constant sound of bombardment jets overhead.

“If Cambodia was the killing fields, then Gaza now is the slaughterhouse.”

His reference to Cambodia’s killing fields refers to when more than a million people were murdered in mass executions and buried by the extreme communist guerrilla group, the Khmer Rouge, under Pol Pot, between 1975 and 1979.

The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said 464 people had died in Israeli military strikes in the week to Sunday.

In a statement on Sunday, IDF said its air force struck “over 670 Hamas terror targets throughout the Gaza Strip to disrupt enemy preparations and support ground operations” over the past week.

Dr Potokar described the impact on those on the ground, saying: “We’ve been operating all morning so far and [treating] awful explosive injuries… [including] one young woman with leg fracture and shoulder fracture and a large wound on her buttock, who came in yesterday and is not yet aware that everyone in our family was killed in the onslaught.”

Israel has launched an escalation of its war in Gaza to ramp up pressure on Hamas, seize territory, displace Palestinians to the south and take greater control over the distribution of aid.

On Sunday, it announced and launched “extensive” new ground operations in Gaza.

It came after airstrikes killed more than 100 people, including dozens of children, overnight and into Sunday, hospitals and medics said, and forced northern Gaza’s main hospital to close.

A spokesperson for the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said: “Complete families were wiped off the civil registration record by Israeli bombardment”.

The ministry also said the bombardment had forced the closure of the Indonesian Hospital, the main hospital serving people in northern Gaza.

Nasser hospital, in the southern city of Khan Younis, said more than 48 people – mostly women and children – were killed in the area which includes tents sheltering displaced people.

In Deir al Balah, in central Gaza, at least 12 people were killed in three separate strikes, according to Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital and the Nuseirat camp’s Awda Hospital.

Meanwhile, the Gaza health ministry and the Palestinian Civil Defence – which operates under the Hamas-run government – reported that 19 people were killed in several strikes in Jabalia in northern Gaza.

The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the strikes.

Read more from Sky News:
How Israel has escalated Gaza bombing campaign

Ceasefire talks are taking place in Qatar this weekend – with Israel saying they involve discussions on ending the war as well as a truce and hostage deal.

A statement from the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said any lasting truce must include the demilitarisation of Gaza as well as the exile of Hamas militants.

But a senior Israeli official added there had been little progress so far during talks in Qatar’s capital Doha.

Sky News Arabia reported Hamas had proposed freeing about half its Israeli hostages in exchange for a two-month ceasefire and the release of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

A Palestinian official close to the discussions said: “Hamas is flexible about the number of hostages it can free, but the problem has always been over Israel’s commitment to end the war.”

World

Russia launches ‘heaviest drone attack’ on Ukraine since start of war

Published

5 hours ago

May 18, 2025

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Russia launches 'heaviest drone attack' on Ukraine since start of war

Russia has launched its heaviest drone attack on Ukraine since the start of the war in 2022, the Ukrainian military has said.

A total of 273 exploding drones were reportedly fired across the Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk regions between Saturday night and Sunday morning.

Some 88 were intercepted and 128 “lost”, having been electronically jammed, Ukraine’s air force said.

It passes the previous record of 267 drones on the eve of the war’s third anniversary earlier this year.

In Kyiv, a 28-year-old woman was killed, and three people, including a four-year-old child were injured, according to regional governor Mykola Kalashnyk.

Just outside the city, firefighters fought to control flames at business premises destroyed by drone attacks. Russia has not commented.

It comes ahead of a planned phone call between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

Mr Trump has promised to speak to Mr Putin and then President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday about “ending the war” after the first direct talks between their two countries failed to yield a ceasefire this week.

Mr Putin snubbed Mr Zelenskyy’s offer of face-to-face talks in Turkey.

A source from the Ukrainian negotiation team told Sky News that Russia threatened “eternal war” during talks between officials.

Kremlin representatives are also reported to have threatened that Ukraine may lose “more than just loved ones” while at the negotiating table.

Talks did bring promise of the largest ever prisoner swap between the two nations – involving 1,000 prisoners of war on each side.

Ukraine’s military intelligence chief said he hoped it would take place over the next week.

Elsewhere in Sumy, northeastern Ukraine, on Saturday, nine people were killed and seven injured after a bus evacuating civilians was hit by a Russian drone in the town of Bilopillia, according to Ukrainian officials.

On Sunday, Mr Zelenskyy was in Vatican City attending the inauguration of Pope Leo XIV.

He was pictured shaking hands with US Vice President JD Vance after their tense clash at the White House earlier this year.

World

More than 100 people killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza, say medics

Published

5 hours ago

May 18, 2025

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More than 100 people killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza, say medics

At least 103 people have been killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza overnight and into Sunday, according to hospitals and medics.

Israel has launched an escalation of its war in Gaza to ramp up pressure on Hamas, seize territory, displace Palestinians to the south and take greater control over the distribution of aid.

Meanwhile, Israel says talks with Hamas taking place in Qatar this weekend involve discussions on ending the war as well as a truce and hostage deal.

Addressing the strikes overnight, a spokesperson for the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said: “Complete families were wiped off the civil registration record by Israeli bombardment”.

The ministry also said airstrikes had forced the closure of the Indonesian Hospital, the main hospital serving people in northern Gaza.

Nasser hospital, in the southern city of Khan Younis, said more than 48 people – mostly women and children – were killed in the area, including tents sheltering displaced people.

In Deir al Balah, in central Gaza, at least 12 people were killed in three separate strikes, according to Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital and the Nuseirat camp’s Awda hospital.

Meanwhile, the Gaza health ministry and the Palestinian Civil Defence – which operates under the Hamas-run government – reported that 19 people were killed in multiple strikes in Jabalia, northern Gaza.

The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the latest strikes.

Peace talks include ending war in Gaza

It comes as peace talks between Israel and Hamas continue in Qatar this weekend, including discussions about ending the war.

A statement from the Israeli Prime Minister’s office said on Sunday that any lasting truce must include the demilitarisation of Gaza as well as the exile of Hamas militants.

But a senior Israeli official added that the talks in the capital, Doha, had made little progress so far.

Sky News Arabia reported that Hamas had proposed freeing about half its Israeli hostages in exchange for a two-month ceasefire and the release of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

A Palestinian official close to the discussions said: “Hamas is flexible about the number of hostages it can free, but the problem has always been over Israel’s commitment to end the war.”

Four journalists killed in Israeli airstrikes

Details have emerged on Sunday about the deaths of four Palestinian journalists in Gaza following Israeli airstrikes.

Abdel Rahman al Abadleh was missing for two days before his body was found in the town of al Qarara in southern Gaza.

Three other journalists were also killed following strikes on Saturday. Aziz al Hajjar, his wife and children, died in the Bir al Naaja neighbourhood of northern Gaza.

Ahmed al Zenati, his wife Noor al Madhoun and their children Mohammad and Khaled, were killed in Khan Younis.

Meanwhile, in Deir al Balah, central Gaza, Nour Qandil, her husband Khaled Abu Seif, and their young daughter were also killed.

Israel has blocked the entry of medical, food and fuel supplies into Gaza since the start of March. It is attempting to pressurise Hamas into freeing Israeli hostages and has approved plans that could involve seizing the whole of Gaza and controlling aid.

‘Systematic campaign targeting hospitals’

Earlier on Sunday, Gaza’s health ministry issued a statement accusing Israel of “intensifying its systematic campaign to target hospitals”.

“After putting the European Gaza Hospital out of service a few days ago, the Israeli occupation has intensified its targeting and siege of the Indonesian Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip since dawn today,” it added.

Israel has previously denied deliberately targeting civilians and accused Hamas of using hospitals for military purposes.

This week, Israel said it had bombed the European Hospital because it was home to an underground Hamas base, but Sky News analysis has cast doubt on its evidence.

Houthis launch missile towards Israel

Separately, the Israeli military said on Sunday it had intercepted a missile launched from Yemen towards Israel.

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis said they had targeted Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv with two ballistic missiles.

The Houthis have fired at Israel because of the plight of Palestinians in Gaza, while Israel has carried out airstrikes in response, including one on 6 May that damaged Yemen’s main airport in Sanaa and killed several people.

The war in Gaza began on 7 October 2023, when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and abducting 251 others.

Israel’s military response has killed more than 53,000 people, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.