South Africa’s citrus industry is bracing for a massive commercial surge following the signing of landmark trade agreement with China. Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen says new phytosanitary protocols will pave the way for a record-breaking export season to the Asian superpower.

The updated agreement significantly eases the “cold treatment” requirements that previously hampered local exports.

Previously, South African citrus had to be stored at near-freezing temperatures for extended periods to mitigate pest risks-a process that often damaged fruit quality and increased costs.

Under the new rules, these risks will be minimised.

Speaking at the signing ceremony in Pretoria, Minister Steenhuisen noted that these revised standards allow South African produce to arrive in Chinese markets fresher and more competitive.

South Africa is the second largest exporter of citrus fruit in the world after Spain. Citrus is South Africa’s largest agricultural export industry, supporting over 140,000 jobs on farms and contributing R34 billion in foreign revenue per season. https://t.co/VFr73aBo1d pic.twitter.com/uLGO6KXgfb

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“I’m very excited. It’s going to streamline and reduce a lot of the export frictions that go with exporting to a country like China. As the science moves, so do protocols need to move. With the more restrictions and onerous provisions that we can remove, the easier it is for our local producers to export into the Chinese market. This is also important because from the 1st of May, we are going to have zero-tariff access to the Chinese market. That is going to be a game changer for agriculture, particularly in South Africa, where there is a huge demand for South African agricultural products, given our counter-cyclical and counter-seasonal benefit,” explains Minister of Agriculture, John Steenhuisen.

China says with South Africa being its biggest importer, the signing of these requirements will greatly benefit both countries in cold storage, energy and shipment costs.

“The document will strengthen phytosanitary safety, significantly cut short the duration of cold treatment, and lower temperature requirements for citrus exports to China. I believe this improvement will further reduce cold chain energy consumption and maritime shipment costs, and make South African citrus much more competitive in the Chinese market. Citrus fruit are actually one of South Africa’s very competitive agricultural products,” says China’s Ambassador, Wu Peng.

Citrus Growers South Africa says the supplementary plant health requirements will grow the industries exports to China.

The Citrus Growers’ Association says it will continue to work closely with the Department of Agriculture and the Department of International Relations to address what it calls unjustified trade barriers on international markets.https://t.co/t9SoCVB0OB

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“It’s very simple. When you get a protocol which is relaxed like this, it makes the flow of fruit and the logistics around it a lot simpler, and it can also bring down the cost significantly. Citrus fruit does not like harsh treatments, and a lot of these protocols are really harsh and very difficult to comply with. So this is a fair relaxation of those protocols, and in our opinion, it should increase the number of partners that we can export to China. So it’s very significant,” says Citrus Growers’ Association of Southern Africa’s Vice President, Hannes de Waal.

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