UA.NEWS08
September
2026
22:17
South Africa signed a protocol in Beijing, China, that for the first time grants <a href="https://absafricatv.com/south-african-economy-contracts-0-2-in-second-quarter-ending-6/” title=”South African economy contracts 0.2% in second quarter, ending 6″>South African cherry producers access to the Chinese market. The document was signed by South African Agriculture Minister Willie Aucamp and Sun Meijun, Minister of the General Administration of Customs of China, during the ninth ministerial meeting on sanitary and phytosanitary issues.
Access to the Chinese market
As TimesLIVE reports, Willie Aucamp called the agreement record-breaking, as South Africa and China signed two protocols on agricultural product market access within one year. According to him, the signing of the document confirms the parties’ intention to expand trade under the Framework Agreement on Economic Partnership for Shared Development.
Aucamp also stated that the agreement provides South Africa with zero-duty access to the Chinese market. South Africa’s Department of Agriculture noted that China is the world’s largest importer of cherries. In 2025, the country imported about 586,900 tonnes of this product with a total value of $3.3 billion.
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Blueberry negotiations
According to the South African ministry’s assessment, opening the Chinese market to cherries is expected to stimulate investment in production and create approximately 600 jobs. Aucamp also met with China’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Zhang Zhu. The parties confirmed their readiness to cooperate in biosecurity, including on foot-and-mouth disease, and to work on new opportunities for South African agricultural products to access the Chinese market.
Negotiations on allowing South African blueberries into China are at an advanced stage, according to the ministry. The Chinese side has submitted a draft protocol for consideration, and Aucamp instructed officials to accelerate the coordination of positions and negotiations in order to complete the procedure by the end of the year.
