Two major developments have lately turned the spoke for blueberry exports from Zimbabwe to China, including export authorization on September 4, 2025.
According to the Zimbabwe Herald Online on September 17, 2025, the authorization touches on phytosanitary protocols for growers and exporters.
To meet the aseptic mandate, shippers must only pack fruits from registered orchards and the produce ought to be free of infection.
Fresh fruit must transit at cold temperatures of either 1.11ºC, 1.67ºC or 2.22ºC, depending on the voyage duration.
The Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water & Rural Development also suggested that other food regulations within China may apply.
Tariff-free Access
This development comes hand-in-hand with a surprise zero-tariff export agreement that has sidelined major exporter, South Africa.
Duty-free dispatches add a silver lining to Harare’s authorization to export blueberries to Beijing because they will encourage trade growth.
Analysts speculate that this instantaneous free entry owes to Zimbabwe’s traditional shipments to Hong Kong where China must’ve often studied quality.
Zimbabwe is one of four nations with free access to China’s blueberry market, the others being Peru, Chile and Uruguay.
Most other entrants command stiff duties averaging 30% that limit full market penetration, thus benefiting the duty-free club.
The next possible event following the export agreement is the rapid increase in shipments accruing to Zimbabwe’s uniquely tasty berries. Furthermore, the South African country expects to reap 12,000 tonnes of the fruit in 2025, up by 4,000 tonnes in 2024.
Blueberry demand in China in turn has leap-frogged from 665 tonnes (2005) to almost 39,000 t (2024) from healthy consumerism.
The two countries now boast two consecutive fruit trade deals, following the avocado protocol of 2024 that introduced Zim avocados to China. And looking at the statistics below, it is almost certain that blueberries will quickly establish a niche there, too.
Zimbabwe Blueberry Statistics
Although Zimbabwe is an emerging source, its blueberry sector is experiencing exponential growth, catapulting production into the top 15 worldwide (2022). It harvests about a quarter of the blueberries the top shipper in Africa, South Africa produces. While South Africa averages 35,000 tonnes or the 10th highest worldwide output, as of 2023, Zimbabwe produces 8,000 tonnes, as of 2024. This volume could grow rapidly as the country’s Horticulture Recovery and Growth Plan aims to turn blueberries into a $2-billion mega sector.
Has Zimbabwe’s blueberry sector grown much?
Between 2021 and 2022, the Zimbabwe blueberry production grew by 72%, then in the 2022-23 timeline by 42%. This is based on the following fresh blueberry output data snapshot by the FAOSTAT:
| Year | Fresh Blueberries Output [tonnes] | Annual Growth |
| 2023 | 2,800 | – |
| 2022 | 1,868 | 72% |
| 2021 | 1,140 | 42% |
How many hectares are under blueberries in Zim?
Like production, Zimbabwe’s blueberry area has been growing by leaps and bounds in the three-year timeline ending 2023. In 2021 there were 285 hectares (ha) under the fruit, in 2022 328 ha and in 2023 506 ha.
Where does Zimbabwe export its blueberries?
The bulk of Zimbabwe’s blueberry shipments end up in neighboring South Africa, most probably for re-export. The rest go to the European Union, the UK, the Middle East, Hong Kong, Russia and as of late 2025, China. Even though China is the world’s largest producer of blueberries it is also the largest consumer, which forces imports.
In the last five years ending 2024, Zimbabwe’s blueberry exports grew by 63% or 1,200 tonnes a year. In 2022, foreign dispatches hit over 5,000 tonnes.