Zimbabwe citrus firms gain access to China’s massive food market
- China lists 11 registered Zimbabwean citrus orchards and 6 citrus packing houses to export citrus to China, which may help bridge a market gap over summer
- Zimbabwe minister says the country is now working on further protocols with China relating to blueberries, avocados and chillies
The Chinese embassy in Harare announced that on June 1 the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC) listed 11 registered Zimbabwean citrus orchards and six citrus packing houses chosen by Chinese authorities to export citrus to China.
“Zimbabwean fresh citrus can now be exported to China, which is the largest market of citrus consumption in the world,” the embassy posted on Twitter.
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The embassy revealed that Zimbabwe could now export mandarin oranges, sweet oranges, grapefruit, lemons, limes and sour oranges to China.
It said orchards and packing houses seeking to export citrus to China must be registered by Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, and approved by both Zimbabwean authorities and Chinese customs.
Zimbabwe has a total of 4,000 hectares of land under citrus cultivation and its climate is well suited to growing the crop. South Africa is the largest producer of citrus fruit and other horticulture on the continent.
As China comes into summer, Zimbabwe’s citrus-growing season can help bridge a gap in the Chinese market. When China’s domestic citrus production is in its summer off-season, China receives half its citrus imports from the Southern Hemisphere countries Australia and South Africa.
John Basera, Zimbabwe’s secretary of agriculture, said the GACC’s list of citrus orchards and packing houses was the successful result of groundwork by Zimbabwean growers to export into the Chinese market.
