South Africa begins stone fruit exports to China

In February, the first shipment of South African plums to China left a packhouse in Franschhoek, just outside Cape Town. The export stems from a protocol signed in October last year, which opened the Chinese market to South African stone fruit – a category of fruits that are characterised by flesh or pulp enclosing a hard seed, such as a peach, plum, or cherry. The inaugural shipment follows a framework agreement signed between the two countries earlier this month that paves the way for zero-tariff access for South African produce.

The stone fruit deal covers apricots, peaches, nectarines, plums, and prunes, and is expected to generate around US$25m in exports over the next five years. China’s demand for these fruits has grown rapidly. Last year alone, it bought more than 21m cartons of peaches and nectarines and 20m cartons of plums – exceeding South Africa’s entire seasonal export volume. South Africa is also currently negotiating similar export agreements to secure market access for cherries and blueberries.

The broader bilateral pact – officially the Framework Agreement on Economic Partnership for Shared Prosperity – was signed on 6 February. It sets the stage for further negotiations, with a final agreement expected by the end of March 2026. Once concluded, this deal will provide duty-free access for South African products and enhance Chinese investment into the country. The agreement is expected to particularly boost South African agricultural exports to China.

Beijing recently announced it will fully implement zero-tariff treatment for 53 African nations with diplomatic ties, starting 1 May 2026. China first signalled its intention to do this last year, and the formal rollout is widely seen as a direct counter to recent US tariffs on African exports. The measure builds on China’s existing policy of granting duty- and quota-free access to African least-developed countries. Under the expanded plan, higher-income economies such as South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt, Morocco, and Kenya will now also be eligible for preferential treatment.

Despite new US tariffs on some farm goods, South African agricultural exports hit an annual record of $15.1bn in 2025. Asia and the Middle East accounted for 17% of those shipments. In addition to its deal with China, South Africa recently signed agreements to boost agricultural shipments to countries including the Philippines, Thailand, and Japan. Supermarkets in Singapore too have started to stock South African stone fruits in recent years.

References

‘Minister Steenhuisen signs landmark stone fruit protocol with China’, Department of Agriculture, 15 October 2025

'Minister Tau signs framework agreement on economic partnership for shared prosperity (CAEPA)', Department of Trade, Industry and Competition, 5 February 2026

'South Africa farm exports hit record even as US shipments crash', Bloomberg, 9 February 2026

'Agriculture: Historic milestone as first stone fruit shipment departing for China', South African Government, 19 February 2026

'DA welcomes first 20,000 carton plum export to China under Minister Steenhuisen', Democratic Alliance, 19 February 2026

'First plum shipment from South Africa marks new China trade era', TimesLIVE, 19 February 2026

'At the 39th African Union Summit, China will grant zero-tariff treatment for 100 percent of tariff lines from LDCs starting from May 1, 2026', Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, 23 February 2026

'S. African experts welcome duty-free access granted by China', Xinhua, 23 February 2026