Zimbabwe is moving to deepen its agricultural trade with China as new export agreements, expanding market access and Beijing’s coming zero-tariff policy begin to reshape the outlook for local growers. The momentum is already visible. Zimbabwe earned about US$11.62 million from horticultural exports to China in 2025, according to figures cited by the Chinese Embassy in Harare and reported in local and international outlets.
That number is modest when set against Zimbabwe’s much larger mineral and tobacco trade with China. Even so, it matters because it points to a gradual but important shift. China is no longer only a destination for Zimbabwe’s raw commodities. It is also becoming a more serious market for the country’s high-value agricultural produce.
A bigger opening may come very soon. China will begin implementing zero-tariff treatment for 53 African countries, including Zimbabwe, from 1 May 2026. Beijing says the move is meant to deepen trade cooperation and widen African access to the Chinese market. For Zimbabwean farmers and exporters, that opens the possibility of stronger price competitiveness in one of the world’s largest consumer markets.
Interest from Chinese buyers is already building ahead of that date. The Chinese Embassy in Zimbabwe said buyers have started visiting local farms to source premium produce, while an April trade engagement is expected to bring Chinese importers, wholesalers, processors, retail representatives and investors to Zimbabwe. The focus will be on horticultural products such as avocados, macadamia nuts, blueberries, pecans, chillies and sesame seeds. Delegates are also expected to tour farms and packing houses where export crops are produced.
Zimbabwe and China have steadily widened the agricultural side of their trade relationship over the past few years. In 2022, the two countries signed an agreement that opened the way for Zimbabwean citrus exports, including sweet oranges, mandarins and lemons. By 2024, Zimbabwe had secured access for avocados. In 2025, blueberries followed. These protocols matter because entry into the Chinese market depends not only on demand, but also on detailed phytosanitary approval and export compliance.
That helps explain why horticulture is drawing new attention. Once these protocols are in place, exporters can move from informal opportunity to structured market access. Farmers, packers and agribusinesses then gain a more predictable route into China’s retail and wholesale system.
The broader trade relationship has already grown sharply. According to ZimTrade figures reported by The Herald, China became Zimbabwe’s third-largest export market in 2024, with exports reaching US$2.44 billion, up from US$766 million in 2015. Imports from China were put at US$1.4 billion, leaving Zimbabwe with a trade surplus of more than US$1 billion.
More recent Chinese figures suggest the relationship may have grown further still. China Daily reported in January 2026 that two-way trade had risen to US$4.39 billion, with China importing US$2.56 billion worth of goods from Zimbabwe. Tobacco remained the biggest single import, but the wider pattern shows a trade relationship that is deepening and diversifying.
For Zimbabwe, the significance of agricultural exports to China goes beyond headline revenue. Horticulture can create a different type of value from mining. It spreads opportunity across farms, rural communities, pack houses, cold-chain logistics and export processing. That matters in an economy trying to widen its productive base and move beyond dependence on a narrow range of exports.
Macadamia nuts have already become one of the clearest examples of that potential. Blueberries and avocados may now follow, especially as consumer demand in China continues to create space for premium imported produce. Zimbabwe’s climate and growing conditions give it a commercial advantage in several of these crops. Turning that into sustained export growth, however, will depend on quality control, traceability, packaging, logistics and consistency of supply.
Buyer visits may prove important in that process. Trade relationships in fresh produce rarely grow on policy alone. They deepen when importers see farms, test quality, trust the supply chain and believe the exporter can meet volume and standards over time. The April engagement in Zimbabwe is therefore more than a diplomatic event. It forms part of the commercial work needed to convert market access into actual sales.
There is also a wider strategic context. China’s zero-tariff move could help African exporters become more competitive, but it will not guarantee success on its own. The countries likely to benefit most will be those that can move quickly, organise supply and meet the standards demanded by Chinese buyers. Zimbabwe appears to be trying to position itself for that opening before the tariff changes formally begin.
For now, the direction is clear. Zimbabwe and China are no longer building a trade relationship around minerals alone. Agriculture is taking a more visible place in that partnership. If the current protocols, buyer interest and zero-tariff access translate into stronger orders, Zimbabwe’s horticultural sector could be entering a far more commercially significant phase.
