It is a reasonably busy day. But I do want to comment on the exciting news of South Africa’s signing of the stone fruit trade protocol with China. As South Africa’s Department of Agriculture stated:
“The agreement opens the Chinese market for the first time to five types of South African stone fruit, namely apricots, peaches, nectarines, plums, and prunes. It is also the first instance where China has negotiated access for multiple stone fruit types from a single country under one deal.”
This is commendable, and we must continue working to broaden South Africa’s agricultural access to China.
At the moment, South Africa holds a small share in China’s list of agricultural suppliers, at about 0.4% (US$979 million) of China’s agricultural imports of US$218 billion in 2023.
However, this current access in China is vital for the wool and red meat industry. China accounts for roughly 70% of South Africa’s wool exports. The fruit industry must be the next to see broader access.
There is a progressive increase in red meat exports, even though animal diseases currently cause glitches. The focus should be on expanding this access by lowering import duties/tariffs and other non-tariff barriers to encourage more fruit, grain, and other product exports to China.
Still, it is essential to emphasise that the focus on China is not at the expense of existing agricultural export markets and relationships. Instead, China offers an opportunity to continue with export diversification.
China is among the world’s leading agricultural importers, accounting for 9% of global agricultural imports in 2024 (before 2024, China had been a leading importer for many years). The US was the world’s leading agricultural importer in the same year, accounting for 10% of global imports.
Germany accounted for 7%, followed by the UK (4%), the Netherlands (4%), France (4%), Italy (3%), Japan (3%), Belgium (3%) and Canada (2%).
The diversity of agricultural demand in global markets convinces us that South Africa’s agricultural trade interests should not be limited to one country but should be spread across all major agricultural importers.
Importantly, promoting diversity and maintaining access to various regions have been key components of South Africa’s agricultural trade policy since the dawn of democracy.
For example, in 2024, South Africa exported a record US$13.7 billion of agricultural products, up 3% from the previous year. These exports were spread across the diverse regions. The African continent accounted for the lion’s share of South Africa’s agricultural exports, with a 44% share of the total value.
As a collective, Asia and the Middle East were the second-largest agricultural markets, accounting for 21% of the share of overall farm exports. The EU was South Africa’s third-largest agricultural market, accounting for a 19% share of the market. The Americas region accounted for 6% of South Africa’s agricultural exports in 2024. The rest of the world, including the United Kingdom, accounted for 10% of the exports.
So, while the recent protocol is commendable, wider access at lower tariffs is necessary. This export push is key to South Africa’s agricultural growth.
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