China access opens new channel for Zimbabwe’s blueberries

Zimbabwe’s blueberry industry has entered a new phase following the arrival of its first commercially produced berries in China.

The breakthrough shipment, which was made possible thanks to a phytosanitary protocol signed by Zimbabwe and China in September 2025, consisted of trial airfreight pallets dispatched by Delecta Fruit from Harare.

In accordance with the protocol, these were fumigated with methyl bromide before being transported by road to Johannesburg and airfreighted to Shanghai via Hong Kong.

Zimbabwe’s Horticultural Development Council (HDC), working closely with the Ministry of Agriculture’s National Plant Protection Organisation, played a central role in advancing this important market access initiative.

In fact, their ability to complete the process in time for the 2026 season reflects the strategic importance of China to the country’s blueberry industry.

Together, the organisations have helped growers align their production and export systems rapidly with China’s stringent phytosanitary requirements, while the wider industry and government worked intensively to ensure that all necessary protocols were finalised.

Rossouw Lambrechts, blueberry category lead at Delecta Fruit, explains that growers have been exporting blueberries and other fruit from Zimbabwe for several years.

And, after cooperating with the HDC as part of a joint industry effort to get the protocol signed, the timing and marketing conditions were apparently optimal for this first shipment to China.

Only premium berries measuring 18mm and larger were selected for the initial shipment. This allowed for the differentiation of Zimbabwean fruit during a period when domestically produced Chinese blueberries were still available.

And although this first consignment was small, its significance lies in the scale of the market that has now opened to Zimbabwean growers.

Huge potential

Zimbabwe already supplies blueberries to markets including the EU, UK, South Africa, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, and the UAE. China offers the industry an additional destination, one capable of absorbing considerably larger volumes.

Demand for blueberries in China has expanded alongside greater consumer interest in healthy eating and premium fresh fruit. The country’s large population and growing fruit market make it an important opportunity for Zimbabwe to diversify as production increases.

Those commercial prospects are strengthened by China’s zero-tariff treatment for products from all 53 African countries with which it maintains diplomatic relations, an expanded policy which took effect on 1 May 2026 and gives eligible Zimbabwean exports duty-free access.

For the Zimbabwean industry, however, tariff-free access does not remove the considerable technical and logistical requirements involved in supplying China.

Export orchards and packhouses must comply with strict phytosanitary, traceability, and food safety standards, while exporters must utilise routes that preserve fruit quality over a long supply chain.

The HDC summed up the scale of the task at hand: “Now, work shifts to scaling production and testing the best supply routes to this huge new market.”

Rapid growth

China’s opening comes after a decade of unusually rapid development in Zimbabwe’s blueberry sector. Commercial exports only began in 2017, but the country has since become Africa’s third-largest blueberry producer after Morocco and South Africa.

The country exported approximately 9,500 tonnes from an estimated 650ha in 2025, and this year the area under production extended to around 850ha, with exports projected at 12,000 tonnes.

This expansion has been supported by Zimbabwe’s favourable production window. Its export season generally runs from April to October, with around 60 per cent of the crop usually harvested between August and October.

Zimbabwean blueberries therefore enter international markets early in the Southern Hemisphere season, ahead of the largest volumes from major competitors such as Peru.

During seasons when fruit matures early, this timing allows growers to target periods of limited global supply, stronger demand and higher prices.

Zimbabwean blueberry producer Alistair Campbell, who chairs the HDC, has identified this market window as one of the main drivers of the industry’s expansion.

The country’s harvest begins when relatively little competing Southern Hemisphere fruit is available, giving it a potentially valuable advantage.

As Lambrechts explains, the introduction of better varieties has added further momentum. He points out that an easy import process, and relatively quick turnaround on new variety testing, has been a key factor in speeding up this process.

As a result, a full range of suitable low-chill and no-chill genetics from international blueberry breeders are available in Zimbabwe. As these new selections offer stronger yields, improved quality, longer shelf life and more favourable production timing, growers are rapidly replacing older varieties with new ones, and these developments should help growers supply valuable early-season windows more consistently.

Zimbabwe’s participation in the International Blueberry Organization since 2025 also reflects a maturing industry that is becoming more closely integrated into the global blueberry sector.

Significant constraints

The pace of expansion is particularly notable because blueberries are among the most capital-intensive horticultural crops.

New developments require substantial investment in plant material, substrates, irrigation, protective structures, cooling facilities, packing infrastructure and reliable electricity. The crop also requires patient capital, as orchards take time to reach full production.

Zimbabwean growers identify high interest rates and limited access to long-term finance as major constraints. Financing conditions have kept their expansion in check, particularly for new and emerging producers that cannot easily fund the high establishment cost of a blueberry project.

Export logistics from Zimbabwe also remain a challenge. Zimbabwe is landlocked, and the first shipment had to travel by road to South Africa before being flown to Asia.

Airfreight exports offer speed at a high expense, particularly over long distances, but are justified during the undersupplied market when the returns for the product are sufficient to cover that cost.

As volumes grow, exporters will need to assess whether more efficient airfreight arrangements or suitable seafreight programmes can be developed without compromising quality.

The industry must also cope with increasing competition. Zimbabwe’s early production window is commercially valuable, but it is not guaranteed. The 2025 crop matured slightly later than usual, which meant a greater overlap with Peru and production from South Africa’s Western Cape.

This placed pressure on late-season prices and demonstrated how relatively small changes in timing can affect returns to grower.

Compliance with China’s import protocol adds another layer of cost and complexity. Fumigation, inspection, registration and traceability requirements must be incorporated into a supply chain that can consistently deliver premium fruit.

For the industry to comply with the protocol’s requirement for methyl bromide fumigation on airfreight exports, the Zimbabwean government needed to approve the use of methyl bromide for phytosanitary use, and subsequently also approved several professional fumigators to perform this process.

According to the protocol, methyl bromide is required for airfreighted fruit. Ocean shipments, meanwhile, could undergo either the methyl bromide treatment or follow a cold sterilisation protocol during transit.

The next test

Despite these obstacles, the outlook remains positive. Zimbabwe combines favourable climatic conditions, an early market window, improving technical expertise and increasingly competitive genetics. China adds another major demand centre at a time when planted area and export volumes are rising.

The opening could also strengthen investor confidence. Blueberries form part of Zimbabwe’s wider Horticulture Recovery and Growth Plan, which aims to develop a US$2bn horticultural industry.

Greater government support for market-access negotiations and agricultural development has helped create a more favourable environment for investment.

Growing interest from India and other Asian markets could provide further commercial outlets. Securing access to India is now among the Zimbabwean industry’s next priorities.

China, nevertheless, changes the scale of the immediate opportunity. The market could eventually provide a second major volume outlet alongside Europe, but Zimbabwe must first expand production and establish reliable commercial supply routes.

The first pallets to China therefore represent far more than a symbolic shipment. They mark the opening of a potentially significant new trade channel for an industry that has expanded rapidly despite difficult operating conditions.

It’s an achievement which also reflects the resilience and determination of Zimbabwean growers, who have adapted to stringent phytosanitary requirements while continuing to strengthen their industry’s quality, reputation, and international profile.

In essence, Zimbabwe is presented with a big opportunity and a major challenge: it no longer needs to prove that international demand exists for its blueberries, but it must quickly mobilise the finance, production capacity, and logistical infrastructure required to service that demand consistently.

”China has opened the door,” says HDC chief executive Linda Nielsen following the inaugural shipment. ”As Zimbabwe, we must now make sure we have enough product to walk through it.”