According to a report from China’s Xinhua News Agency, the protocol on phytosanitary requirements for Zimbabwean avocado exports to China was signed on Sept. 3 during Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s state visit to Beijing for the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation.
Zimbabwe, along with Kenya, South Africa and Tanzania, is among Africa’s main avocado-producing countries. Fresh avocados from Kenya and Tanzania gained access to the Chinese market in June and November 2022, respectively, while South African avocados received the green light in August 2023. Following Zimbabwe’s signing of the trade agreement, most of the continent’s top avocado-growing countries are now permitted to export their avocados to China. With the recent development, avocados have become Zimbabwe’s second fruit category allowed into the Chinese market, following a range of citrus fruits (sweet oranges, mandarins, grapefruit, lemons, limes and bitter oranges), which were granted access in July 2022.
Linda Nielsen, CEO of Zimbabwe’s Horticultural Development Council, stated that avocado export volumes to China would be determined by the terms stipulated in the protocol, specifically the sanitary and phytosanitary requirements, as well as the associated costs for exporters.
Nielsen noted that Zimbabwe’s avocado production is anticipated to reach a historic high of 6,000 metric tons in 2024, and the avocado industry intends to expand the planting area from the current 1,500 hectares to 4,000 hectares by 2030.