South Africa has secured duty-free access for five stone fruit types to China, but broader access for other fruit categories may take up to 10 years to materialise. Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen is negotiating expanded market access, while the timing and scope of China's wider duty-free offer remain uncertain.
Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau signed a Framework Agreement on Economic Partnership for Shared Prosperity with Chinese counterpart Wang Wentao on 6 February. The agreement includes implementation of China's duty-free offer to Africa from 1 May, but tariff removal for many agricultural exports will only occur after 10 years, according to trade analyst Donald MacKay of XA Global Trade Advisors.
"This idea that there's duty-free access to everything in China is just factually not true, or it's not true immediately," he said. The draft offer shows that products such as citrus, wine, peaches, nectarines, apples, berries, grapes, melons, and nuts will become duty-free over time, while some products qualify earlier.
MacKay noted that non-tariff barriers remain a constraint. "But even if we got duty-free access on all agricultural goods tomorrow, this doesn't deal with the far bigger problem, which is the incredibly lengthy period it takes to get a single agricultural product approved for export to China," he said. Approval timelines can extend to five to seven years due to sanitary and phyto-sanitary requirements.
On 15 October 2025, Steenhuisen and Chinese Customs Minister Sun Meijun signed a protocol in Shanghai granting access for apricots, peaches, nectarines, plums, and prunes. Steenhuisen said this was the first agreement covering multiple stone fruit types from one country.
"The opening of the Chinese market could unlock approximately R400-million (US$21.6 million) for us over the next five years, a figure which is projected to double over the next 10 years," he said. The first shipment, around 20,000 cartons of plums, was dispatched in February from the Freshness First packhouse in Franschhoek, in the presence of China's ambassador Wu Peng.
China has also eased cold treatment requirements for citrus exports, which Steenhuisen said would reduce costs and support quality. In 2025, southern Africa exported approximately 204 million cartons of citrus, with South Africa contributing approximately 193 million cartons. Export earnings reached an estimated US$2.47 billion, supporting approximately 140,000 direct jobs.
MacKay said South African exports to China are dominated by minerals, followed by limited manufactured goods and agricultural products. "The third category is agricultural products. Here, there's a genuine opportunity," he said, although full tariff benefits are expected only after 10 years.
The framework forms part of China's broader duty-free offer to African countries, excluding Eswatini. Under World Trade Organization rules, reciprocal access is required, meaning South Africa must offer concessions in return.
Source: Daily Maverick
