Bird Netting Suppliers in South Africa: A Buyer’s Guide

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Introduction

Western Cape farmers I speak with rarely ask whether to net anymore — they ask which supplier delivers on time before veraison. Silvereye flocks in the Hex River Valley can strip a Sultanina block in under a week; in the Elgin and Grabouw apple country, Common Starlings work in coordinated groups that defeat acoustic deterrents within a single season. The pressure is real, and the window between fruit color-change and harvest is short enough that a delayed netting order can wipe out margin for an entire cultivar.

This guide maps the South African suppliers worth knowing — local manufacturers with track records in SA conditions, from Ceres to Limpopo — plus an honest look at what direct import from China involves. No single source fits every operation; the right choice depends on your region, crop type, scale, and the level of on-site support you need. For a global view of bird netting supplier types and system options, see our international bird netting guide.

Common Bird Pests by Region

South Africa Bird Netting Supplier Directory

Knittex

• Location: Johannesburg, Durban, Capetown
• Company type: Manufacturer, Supplier
• Year founded: 1964
• The number of employees: 100-150
• Main product: Barrier nets, windbreak nets, groundsheet, bird netting
• Other products: Perimeter nets, Aquaculture nets
  

Knittex is one of the most respected companies in its industry and for good reason; they have extremely knowledgeable sales staff and a deep understanding of the applications their product can be used for. Their products are high-quality made from high-density polyethylene and ultra-light inhibitors. They also pass the stringent standards set out and regulated by various global standards in South Africa

Best for: Large-scale commercial growers needing HDPE drape nets across multiple crops; operations requiring products compliant with global standards.

Not ideal for: Small hobby orchards or growers who need bespoke mesh sizes not in standard range.

Plus Net

• Location: Randfontein, South Africa
• Company type: Manufacturer
• Year founded: 2000
• The number of employees: 10-50
• Main product: Bird netting, Shade nets
• Other products: Fibre, Ski rope, Mini tunnels

PlusNet is an innovative netting manufacturer producing state-of-the-art netting products for your agriculture, commercial and civil industry. Their production facility has the latest technologies to deliver the highest quality net fabric to meet new demands in today’s global market. PlusNet takes pride in being able to prove that they are one of the most productive manufacturers in their worldwide area, continuously improving quality control processes at every step of the manufacturing process.  Products are being exported worldwide.  To help you address all your net-related queries or projects, just get in touch with their PlusNet team.

Best for: Growers who want locally manufactured nets with export-grade quality control; projects where latest loom technology matters.

Not ideal for: Operations needing immediate stock from a walk-in counter — lead times apply for custom orders.

Industrial Netting

• Location: Sandton
• Company type: Manufacturer, Supplier
• Year founded: 1969
• The number of employees: 50-100
• Main product: Shade netting, pest control netting, safety netting
• Other products: Sports netting, Cargo netting

Industrial netting nets are used all over the world and can be found on farms, in food processing facilities, and even in professional sporting events. They take pride in our ability to ship high-quality products at a reasonable price and provide value-added services along with our products.  Premium quality nets are available in polyethylene, polypropylene, and monofilament materials.

Best for: Operations needing PE, PP, or monofilament options under one roof; buyers who value a long-standing track record since 1969.

Not ideal for: Buyers seeking specialist vineyard-specific net profiles — core focus is multi-industry.

Alnet (PTY)

• Location: Durban
• Company type: Manufacturer, Supplier
• Year founded: 1963
• The number of employees: 50-100
• Main product: Agriculture nets, Aquaculture nets
• Other products: construction nets

Alnet (Pty) Ltd is now one of the largest manufacturers of synthetic textiles, netting, and cordage globally. Due to the quality and versatility of their products, they are highly sought after by clients all over the world. Alnet shade cloth products are made from a combination of high‐density polyethylene (HDPE) monofilament and tape, extruded by Alnet and thereafter knitted on Raschel knitting machines. All of their shade-related products are UV stabilized to withstand harsh weather conditions.

Best for: Growers who need UV-stabilised HDPE nets at scale; operations requiring aquaculture or construction nets alongside agriculture.

Not ideal for: Small parcels or trial orders — Alnet’s strength is volume.

NetsDirect

• Location: Pretoria
• Company type: Manufacturer, Supplier
• Year founded: 2004
• The number of employees: 100-150
• Main product: Anti hail nets, Drape Nets, Bird nets, Anti-Insect nets
• Other products: Bee Nets, Olive nets

NetDirect is dedicated to customers in the local area. They offer top-quality netting, available for collection or delivery. Their prices are consistently lower than competitors, and online shop makes ordering easy. NetDirect manufactures its agricultural netting in-house to ensure it is quality standard. Other industries also utilize their nets for different purposes. Finally, they are one of the best solution providers to meet your netting requirements.

Best for: Farmers in the Pretoria / Gauteng region who want competitive pricing and in-house manufactured stock available for collection.

Not ideal for: Western Cape or coastal growers who need same-week regional delivery.

GreenHouse Technologies

• Location: Johannesburg
• Company type: Manufacturer, Supplier
• Year founded: 2007
• The number of employees: 10-50
• Main product: Agricultural nets, greenhouse plastics
• Other products: Packaging materials, irrigation systems

Greenhouse Technologies is dedicated to supplying quality products that meet or exceed customer expectations for performance and value. Agricultural nets are available to many different specifications and sizes depending upon crop type and application. Also, Greenhouse Technologies offer an extensive range of greenhouses suitable for all sectors of horticulture and agriculture, including Commerical, Horticultural, Farming & Farm Indoor production.

Best for: Operations that combine bird netting with greenhouse structures, irrigation, or packhouse needs — one-stop procurement.

Not ideal for: Pure net-only buyers who want the lowest commodity price without added services.

NetKing

• Location: CapeTown
• Company type: Manufacturer
• Year founded: 1985
• The number of employees: 10-50
• Main product: Agricultural nets, Custom nets, sports nets, safety nets
• Other products: Netting accessories

NetKing is a comprehensive agricultural protection textile and nets manufacturing enterprise that produce all kinds of agricultural livestock mesh, tree netting, farm netting, wild animal trap netting, snow fencing, fence for agriculture others. NetKing products are made of high-density polyethylene strips, meshes, and gauzes. It is flexible, anti-aging, waterproof and resistant to UV.

Best for: Cape Town-based growers who want local pickup, HDPE nets with UV resistance, and custom sizing for unusual row configurations.

Not ideal for: Buyers who need rapid installation crews — NetKing is primarily a manufacturer.

Greenzone

• Location: Gauteng
• Company type: Manufacturer
• Year founded: 1992
• The number of employees: 10-25
• Main product: Agricultural netting, Green shades, Greenhouse
• Other products: Irrigation and fertilization

Greenzone manufactures and distributes agricultural protection textiles and nets for commercial and domestic use. Their products are used by many farmers in SouthAfrica and Overseas. They also provide other netting products including predator control, fence netting, greenhouse netting, padding mesh, shade cloths, and more. Contracting services are also offered to assist with the design, sizing, and installation of agricultural protection products.

Best for: Gauteng farms needing agricultural nets plus contracting support for design, sizing, and installation on complex structures.

Not ideal for: Growers who want a Cape-based account manager or warehouse close to Western Cape production areas.

RedAnt

• Location: Ceres
• Company type: Supplier
• Year founded: 1961
• The number of employees: 10-50
• Main product: Agricultural netting, Imported equipment
• Other products: Precision farming
  
  

Redant supplies specialized nets, fences, and complex textile systems for crop protection applications. Redant Nets and Fences offers solutions that enable farmers and gardeners to protect crops from birds, pests, and disease without endangering people, animals, or the environment. The Redant team combines over 60 years of experience in the agricultural industry with a constant quest for innovative ideas that ensure they deliver intelligent, innovative, and sustainable solutions to meet customers’ demands.

Best for: Ceres-area and Koue Bokkeveld apple and pear farmers who want a supplier with 60+ years of SA agricultural experience and local logistics.

Not ideal for: Operations outside the Western Cape where RedAnt’s local knowledge and proximity add less value.

Considering Direct Import from China?

Some larger SA operations — typically those netting 50 hectares or more — eventually look at importing bird netting directly from Chinese manufacturers. The economics can work, but there are real trade-offs worth understanding before signing a proforma invoice.

Where the savings come from

Chinese HDPE extrusion and knitting capacity is enormous, and ex-factory prices per kilogram are typically 30–50% below South African retail. For a 100-hectare table-grape operation in the Hex River Valley, that difference can reach hundreds of thousands of rands over the life of a net. The key variables are mesh aperture (the 12 × 12 mm diamond mesh that excludes Silvereye without shading fruit), UV stabiliser loading (look for minimum 2% carbon black or equivalent HALS additive), and knit construction (raschel vs extruded square).

What to plan for

Lead time from order to Cape Town port is typically 30–40 days by sea, plus inland logistics. A full container (40 HC) holds roughly 80,000–120,000 square metres of lightweight bird netting, so you need sufficient scale to justify the minimum order. Customs duty on HDPE netting into South Africa currently sits at 10%, and you will need a freight forwarder familiar with agricultural textile classification (HS code 5608). Payment terms with first-time suppliers are usually 30% deposit, 70% before shipping — budget accordingly and use a trade finance facility if cash flow is tight.

What does not transfer from local suppliers

The main things you lose with direct import are emergency top-up stock (no local buffer), on-site technical support during installation, and the ability to return defective rolls without a 10-week round trip. If your netting programme spans multiple cultivars with different risk profiles — say, early Crimson against late Autumn Royal — the flexibility of ordering additional drape nets from a Ceres or Johannesburg distributor mid-season is worth real money. Many growers use a hybrid model: import the bulk of standard-mesh nets for established blocks, and keep a local account with RedAnt or Knittex for quick-response top-ups.

EyouAgro — For Operations with the Scale and Lead Time to Import Direct

If your order is 20,000 m² or above, your timeline allows 3 months from order to installation, and you have a freight forwarder managing your agricultural imports — direct factory sourcing from EyouAgro (Shanghai, est. 1996) is worth a conversation.

EyouAgro manufactures knitted HDPE bird netting — including the 12×12mm diamond aperture standard for Cape White-eye exclusion — on 8 production lines from 100% virgin resin with UV stabilizer. At 20,000 m²+, factory-direct pricing landed at Cape Town (CTCT) or Durban typically runs 40–50% below equivalent SA distributor pricing after 7.5–10% import duty, sea freight, and broker fees.

• Full-project batch consistency — 30,000+ m² from one production run, one raw material lot. No aperture variation between deliveries, no colour change when you extend the same block in year 3.
• SGS-verified specifications — UV stabilizer %, tensile strength, and actual weight per m² documented per batch. Useful for GlobalG.A.P. export certification and quality disputes.

Not right if: under 5,000 m², delivery needed in under 8 weeks, or no freight forwarder in place. The hybrid model — import bulk, keep RedAnt or Knittex for in-season top-ups — is how most large SA operations structure it.

Contact info@eyouagro.com with mesh spec, total area, and preferred port. We’ll send factory spec sheet, SGS certificate, and full landed cost to Cape Town or Durban.

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How to Choose the Right Supplier for Your SA Operation

South Africa has no shortage of competent bird netting suppliers, which is genuinely good news for growers. The practical question is fit, not quality. RedAnt and Knittex bring decades of crop-specific knowledge to Western Cape clients; Alnet and PlusNet deliver volume at scale for large commercial blocks; NetsDirect and Greenzone give Gauteng-based operations a local option. If your harvest is at risk from Cape White-eyes in Stellenbosch or from Hadedas in KwaZulu-Natal, the right supplier is the one who knows your pest pressure, your row spacing, and your seasonal timeline — and can deliver before the birds arrive.

For growers exploring direct import or who need non-standard mesh specifications, discussing requirements early — before the season — gives you the most options. The 30 to 40 day ocean freight window and customs lead time mean netting decisions made in September serve the January harvest, not October decisions.

Frequently Asked Questions

What mesh size is recommended for bird netting in South Africa vineyards?

For vineyards in the Western Cape, a 12 x 12 mm diamond aperture (or equivalent 10 x 15 mm raschel knit) is the standard for excluding Cape White-eyes (Silvereyes), which are the primary threat at veraison. Larger apertures (18 mm+) are sufficient for Common Starlings but will not stop smaller birds. For apple orchards in Ceres or Elgin, 12 mm diamond mesh is effective against most pest species encountered.

How long does agricultural bird netting last in South African conditions?

Quality HDPE bird netting with adequate UV stabilisation typically lasts 5 to 8 seasons in Western Cape conditions if correctly stored off-season. Nets left deployed year-round degrade significantly faster. Coastal KwaZulu-Natal conditions can reduce lifespan by 1 to 2 seasons relative to the dry interior.

Which bird species cause the most crop damage in South Africa fruit regions?

Cape White-eye (Zosterops virens) and Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) are responsible for the majority of economic damage in the Western Cape, particularly in vineyards during the January to March harvest window. Hadeda Ibis damage is more localised to KwaZulu-Natal. In Limpopo mango regions, African Green Pigeon and Red-winged Starling are the primary concerns.

Can I use the same bird netting for table grapes and apples?

Generally yes — the same 12 mm diamond HDPE mesh protects both crops from the same bird species. The main difference is the installation method: table grape rows often use a drape-over system, while apples may use an overhead enclosure structure. Standard SA rolls come in 4.5 m, 5 m, and 6 m widths.

What is the typical lead time for bird netting delivery in South Africa?

For stock items, local manufacturers like NetsDirect and Knittex typically deliver within 5 to 10 business days. Custom orders may require 3 to 6 weeks. Direct import from China adds 30 to 40 days ocean freight plus customs clearance. Plan netting procurement at least 60 to 75 days ahead of your target installation date.

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