Johannesburg - South Africa has started exporting fresh fruit to Thailand after 14 years of negotiations between the two countries, the department of agriculture said on Monday.
The department said in a statement that the citrus to be exported to Thailand will include sweet orange, mandarin, lemon and grapefruit.
It said the export agreement was with effect from May 31.
South Africa exports most of its fresh fruit to countries in Europe but debt woes in the eurozone have hurt demand, prompting fruit exports to seek new markets in Asia.
South Africa is the world's second-largest citrus fruit supplier, after Spain.