sanews - 10 hours ago

South Africa and China sign landmark agreement South Africa and China have signed a historic stone fruit trade protocol, opening the Chinese market to five types of South African stone fruit — apricots, peaches, nectarines, plums, and prunes.

The agreement was signed in Shanghai by Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen and Minister Sun Meijun of China’s General Administration of Customs (GACC) on Wednesday.

It marks the first time China has granted market access for multiple stone fruit varieties from a single country under one deal.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Steenhuisen described the agreement as “a major breakthrough for South African fruit producers and exporters at a time when diversification is essential for our agricultural resilience.”

He said the protocol forms part of a broader strategy to reduce South Africa’s dependence on traditional export markets and more responsive to new consumption patterns, as China’s growing middle class, which is driving global demand for high-quality agricultural products.

“While markets are grown and developed over time, the access that this protocol will unlock in a vast new market, such as China, holds great potential, and will offset some of the immediate impact of the US tariffs especially on plums,” Steenhuisen said.

The Minister said the Chinese market could unlock approximately R400 million over the next five years, with that figure projected to double within a decade.
“We are of the view that the inaugural 2025/26 export season can generate approximately R28 million and R54 million in 2026/27.”

He noted that China’s demand for peach and plum imports continues to grow, with imports last year exceeding 21 million cartons of peaches and nectarines and 20 million cartons of plums, exceeding South Africa’s entire seasonal export volume.

Projections also indicate that exports to China are set to grow to 5% of South Africa’s total export volumes in 2032/2033.

Job creation

Steenhuisen said the opening of the Chinese market would also enable local producers to export more share of their harvests at more sustainable prices.
“Stronger demand in China, together with a slight reduction in exports to other markets, are expected to drive market growth. Over time, this improved demand, and increased volumes could encourage further investment at farm level, particularly the establishment of new orchards.

“Over the next decade, this protocol could create a market that will support roughly 350 new direct jobs on farms and in packhouses, and close to 600 new jobs overall once linked industries such as transport and packaging are included,” the Minister said.

During his discussions with Minister Meijun, Steenhuisen also raised the resumption of beef exports from certain South African regions and reviewed progress on foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) regionalisation.

Technical team

He also invited a GACC technical team to visit South Africa to inspect the country’s cherry and blueberries orchards and packhouses during the current harvest season.

“If the inspection proceeds smoothly, South Africa will likely secure cherry market access to China within the next harvest cycle, strengthen its trade ties, and unlock new export and job opportunities for the fruit sector. This will also consolidate our positive momentum on broader fruit trade cooperation.”

Investment

The Minister also highlighted the impact of Chinese infrastructure investment in upgrading South Africa’s railways, ports, and highways, improving market access for farmers and boosting logistics efficiency.
This work aligns with China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which prioritises infrastructure investment across Africa. The Minister also encouraged trading partners to make use of the world-class Shanghai Freight Services network to leverage its extensive global logistics network for both sea and air freight, ensuring faster and more reliable delivery of South African agricultural exports to China.

“China has been South Africa’s largest trading partner for more than a decade, and our bilateral trade continues to deepen. We value China’s ongoing cooperation and the shared commitment to exploring opportunities within our agriculture sector and we look forward to building on this partnership through future agreements that benefit both our countries,” the Minister added. – SAnews.gov.za
GabiK Wed, 10/15/2025 - 12:58 278 views

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