Following a visit by China’s President Xi Jinping to Pretoria on August 22, South Africa will start avocado exports to China.
Thoko Didiza, the Minister in charge of South Africa’s agricultural docket, noted that the country has expanded its total avocado orchards to above 18,000 hectares(ha). This is an increase of 26% over the previous total area.
The augmented figures in 2023, according to South African Avocado Industry Overview, are 19,500 hectares.
In 2022, South Africa increased avocado exports by 18% over the 2021 margins, to ship 62, 985 metric tonnes (MT). This was 45% of the total production output of 139,400MT.
Most of the produce went to European, Middle-eastern and regional destinations in descending order. The Netherlands received 62,985 MT, to emerge the leading importer of SA avocados in 2022.
Comparison with Kenya avocados
The first African country to gain major access into the Chinese avocado market was Kenya, in 2020.
South Africa’s acreage compares well with Kenya’s total area under avocado. The East African nation’s total acreage in 2023 is 26,000 hectares. 7,500 ha out of these are commercial-oriented.
Kenya emerged the leading African avocado exporter in 2023 with break-even export figures of 103,240MT. This was an increase by 8% from the 2021 exports worth 95,036MT.
While retail prices of fresh avocado in Kenya in August 2023 start at KSH 79 ($0.55) per kg in supermarkets, those in South Africa are between ZAR 11.30 and 17.45 ($0.61 and$0.94) per kg.
SA’s Local Avocado stats
The Sino-South Africa export agreement is a boon for local job creation. The South African avocado industry directly employs 15,000 people.
The figure includes farmers, farm workers and packing house attendants but excludes employees in the service industry across the avocado value chain.
Africa’s agricultural trade with China
The news of the acceptance of South Africa’s avocados to China comes at an opportune rebound time. Agricultural trade between African countries and China is currently recovering from a two-year trade imbalance.
Since 2020, trade gains have been to China’s advantage due to the harsh quarantine regulations that African exporters have had to meet in the pandemic period.
With this rebound, South Africa is keen on the opening up fruit market of apples and avocados in Beijing. Recent floods in north-east China in August, 2023 have especially impacted local supplies.
South Africa took a lion’s share of apples from Africa worth $21.8 million that landed in Beijing in 2022. Since 2021, the country has seen a gradual oriental shift in its apple exports that once saturated European destinations.
China first accepted African agricultural imports in 2018. Since then, a rapid uptick of acceptance of African sesame, cashew nuts, avocado and dried chilli in China has ensued.