Tried and tested orchard management practices, implemented by our experienced farmers, ensure that our orchards stay healthy and bear quality fruit.
Mahela Group’s citrus brands are renowned for delivering top quality fruit that exceed consumer expectations year after year. The warm days and cold nights of our region are beneficial for producing citrus with well-balanced levels of sugar and acidity as well as good fibre and moisture content.
Tried and tested orchard management practices, implemented by our experienced farmers, ensure that our orchards stay healthy and bear quality fruit. These include the extensive use of beneficial insects in pest control management and using only the highest quality inputs.
Citrus Brands
Grapefruit
Star Ruby
Fruit are globular and slightly flattened, growing to a size of 15 cm in diameter and 12 cm in height. Smooth yellow skin with a pink blush and deep red flesh with few, if any seeds. The pulp is juicy with a sweet-tart flavour.
Shaddock
Also called Chinese grapefruit, pumelo, pommelo, and pompelmous. Fruit range from nearly round to oblate or pear-shaped and they are 10-30 cm wide. The slightly bumpy rind may be green, greenish-yellow or pale-yellow. A white-coloured thicker spongy pith encloses the flesh of the fruit. Every fruit is made up of 9 to14 sections coated along with paper-thin skin. The flesh of the fruit is white-coloured, mild yellow, pink or even rose-red, juicy having a fairly sweet, bitter or even spicy-sweet flavour.
Oranges
Valencia
A large orange variety with a smooth and sometimes finely pebbled surface and a moderately thin rind that clings loosely to its segmented flesh. The light orange flesh contains very few seeds and is sweet, juicy and tender. Though Valencia oranges’ primary usage is for juicing, they can also be eaten fresh.
Turkey
Fruit is round to slightly elongated with a distinctive ring around the end of the fruit. Fruit size varies from 79 to 85 mm. The rind is a deep orange colour, easy to peel. Flesh colour is orange and the flesh is very soft in comparison to most Valencias.
Midknight
Somewhat oblong in shape with a significantly larger fruit size than most Valencias. It has a moderately thin and very smooth rind. The flesh generally has a soft succulent texture, is light orange in colour and virtually seedless. It also has more sugar and fewer acids than standard Valencias. Midknight is a very good all-round orange for sweetness, flavour and juice content.
Delta
The fruit’s appearance is similar to other Valencias but it is slightly more erect in shape and slightly larger. It has a well-coloured, moderately thin and very smooth rind. The flesh is light orange with a soft succulent texture and is virtually seedless. It has a lower sugar content and acidity than standard Valencia with and is ideal for juicing.
Navels
Cara Cara
A medium-sized navel with a glossy, textured rind. The inner flesh is reddish-pink, resembling the colour of ruby grapefruit. Its flesh is seedless, tender, succulent and extremely juicy. Sugar content is high and acid levels are comparatively low.
Soft citrus
Nules Clementine
This easy-peeler has a smooth rind with rich orange flesh that is sweet, soft and juicy.
Samba
Another easy-peeler, Samba fruit has exceptional flavour and colour with a low seed count. Size range is from 50 to 64 mm.
Gold Nugget
Fruits are usually medium in size and roughly rounded with a somewhat bumpy rind. It is moderately easy to peel. The flesh is bright orange, finely-textured, and seedless. The flavour is rich and sweet.
Tango
An absolutely seedless, medium sized, oblong-shaped fruit with a very smooth, easy to peel rind. The flesh has a fine texture with high juice content. It is flavourful with a good acidity balance and high levels of sugar.
Lemons
Genoa
Fruit tends to be rounder than other lemons with a small shoulder. It has a smooth to occasionally coarse, but thin, rind and sometimes high shoulders.
Eureka
Eureka lemons are large, averaging 5 centimeters in diameter, with an oblong shape. They have a vibrant yellow skin with sunken oil glands, resulting in a textured surface. The rind is full of volatile oils, providing an intense citrus aroma.
Mahela Group’s avocados are produced according to GlobalGAP and Tesco standards. We continually evaluate and improve our production methods to lower our environmental impact. This includes the use of bio-fertilisers and improved water management by means of continuous loggers. We are also Siza accredited.
Harvest time starts in March and ends in July. New orchards are being developed at different altitudes, the resulting variation will expand the availability of Mahela’s avocados to December. The avocados are marketed and distributed by Westfalia marketing. Most of the avocados are exported, with some sold to supermarkets in South Africa. The fruit not suitable for export or the supermarket are used for producing guacamole or avocado oil.
Mahela Group’s avocados are produced according to GlobalGAP and Tesco standards. We continually evaluate and improve our production methods to lower our environmental impact. This includes the use of bio-fertilisers and improved water management by means of continuous loggers. We are also Siza accredited.
Fuerte
Fruit are pear-shaped and range from 170 to 340 grams in weight. It has smooth, medium-thin skin that peels easily and remains green as the fruit ripens. The flesh is dense and pale green in colour. It is marginally oily with a rich, creamy flavour and notes of hazelnut. The seed is medium sized.
Hass
Fruit are egg-shaped and range from 142 to 350 grams in weight. Hass avocados have a thick pebbly skin that ripens from green to deep purple or nearly black. The skin does not yield to pressure easily. If it is soft or shrivelled, the fruit is overripe. The flesh closest to the skin is pale green, and as it nears the seed it develops a yellow undertone. The flesh is soft, creamy, and barely fibrous, with good oil content. The flavour is rich and nutty with a slightly sweet finish. The seed size is in proportion to the size of the fruit.
Carmen
Spring-set Carmen fruit looks identical to Hass fruit with an oval shape and thick, pebbly skin which darkens when ripe. Autumn-set Carmen fruit is larger, rounded and has a smoother skin than Hass fruit. The skin darkens when ripe. Fruit ranges from 170g to 400 grams. The creamy flesh has an excellent flavour.
Maluma
Fruit are pear-shaped and range from 150 to 400 gram in weight. The skin ripens to a dark purple-black. The flesh is smooth with a nutty flavour. Seeds are small
Ryan
Fruit are egg-shaped and weighs 300 to 400 grams. The skin is thick and pebbled, though not as pebbled as Hass. It also remains green on ripening. The flesh has a good flavour and the seed is large.
Mahela Group produce Cavendish type bananas. Two-thirds of the bananas are harvested in summer and the rest in winter. No chemicals are used in the production of the bananas. Fertilising is done with a bio-fertiliser. Bananas are packed on-farm, thereby ensuring minimum bruising due to handling. The packed bananas are transported directly from farm to ripening facilities at all major markets in South Africa. Some are distributed to Botswana and Namibia.
Brand
Bananas are marketed under the well-known Mala-Mala brand. This brand was founded in the 1960’s by the late BJ Vorster
Mahela Group produces Beaumont Macadamias for the export market. The nuts are harvested in May through to July. Our nuts are marketed through Tzamac. Dry nuts inshell (NIS) are exported mainly to China while kernel is channelled to the USA and the EU markets.
The late BJ Vorster planted the first Litchi orchards in 1947 on land that today is owned by the Mahela Group. A few of these trees, left unpruned, have been allowed to grow into giants, in memory of BJ Vorster. The Litchis produced on our farms are Mauritius Litchis. Our Litchis are harvested in December and early January. They are exported to the EU and Middle East. The marketing is done through Westfalia Marketing. We don’t let any of our fruit go to waste. Any fruit that don’t meet export standards are juiced.
We are one of only a handful of golden kiwi producers in South Africa. Our kiwis are of the Sorelli variety. Golden kiwis have smaller seeds and are sweeter tasting than green kiwis. It has a thin skin and the hair are shorter and fewer than those of green kiwis. Our kiwi vines are situated in Magoebaskloof, a location that has an exceptional climate for kiwi production. The high altitude and cold climate deter virtually all pests and fungi. Our kiwis are harvested in February and are sold in the EU, the East and on the local market.
