South Africa has both First and Third World apicultural systems. In the First World context, pollination services are essential.
Many commercial crops are dependant on pollination, such as deciduous fruit and seed sunflower.
The honeybee industry contributed R2,1 billion to South Africa's GDP, mainly because of the value of bee-dependant agricultural crops. Honey, beeswax and other hive products only contribute R60 million. There are two subspecies of honeybees in South Africa. Historically, the two subspecies have remained geographically distinct, with a hybrid zone between them. During 1991 the Cape honeybee was accidentally introduced into the scutellata region.