China is opening a wider market for South African agricultural products, with new access for cherries and a major soybean export deal giving producers opportunities to expand beyond traditional destinations.
South Africa signed a phytosanitary protocol with China on September 8, formally opening the Chinese market to South African cherries for the first time. The agreement creates access to the world's largest cherry-importing market, where China imported about 586,900 tonnes of cherries worth $3.3 billion in 2025.
For South African growers, the opportunity is not only the size of the Chinese market but also the timing of the country's production. South Africa's cherry season can provide an earlier supply window before larger volumes from Chile reach the Chinese market, potentially allowing exporters to capture premium demand.
The government expects the new market access to encourage investment in the country's cherry industry and create around 600 jobs. But exporters will still need to meet China's phytosanitary and quality requirements, and airfreight costs could limit the fruit's competitiveness.
Soybeans are providing another route into the Chinese market. A multinational commodity trader has secured an agreement to export approximately 200,000 tonnes of South African soybeans to China in November 2026, marking only the second soybean export deal between the two countries but one of the largest individual shipments to date.
The soybean opportunity has been strengthened by China's decision to grant South African agricultural products preferential access under a zero-tariff scheme that took effect on May 1, 2026. South African soybeans previously faced a 3% Chinese import duty, making the new arrangement more favourable for exporters.
The timing is significant for South Africa's soybean industry. Domestic production has expanded rapidly, with the 2026 crop forecast at about 2.8 million tonnes. With local demand unable to absorb all production, greater access to export markets is becoming increasingly important for maintaining prices and encouraging further investment in production and processing.
Industry estimates put South Africa's soybean exports for the current marketing season at around 510,000 tonnes, with the China shipment accounting for a substantial share. The development gives producers another major destination at a time when the country's soybean industry is looking to strengthen its export position.
The two developments highlight different opportunities within South Africa's agricultural export strategy. Cherries are a high-value horticultural product where market access, timing and quality can determine profitability. Soybeans offer a large-volume commodity opportunity, where scale, freight costs and reliable demand are critical.
Both, however, point to the same broader shift: South Africa is seeking to diversify agricultural export markets and capture growing demand in Asia.
China's growing importance also allows South African producers to reduce their reliance on established markets while attracting investment into production, packing, logistics and export infrastructure. But market access alone will not guarantee success. Producers must consistently meet import requirements, while exporters need reliable logistics and sufficient volumes to compete in a market as large and demanding as China.
For South Africa, the next challenge will be converting these new openings into sustained trade rather than one-off shipments. If exporters can build reliable supply chains around products such as cherries and soybeans, China's market could become a significant new pillar of the country's agricultural export strategy.
NBF Insight
South Africa's new access to China shows why agricultural market access matters beyond the export deal itself. A new buyer can create incentives for farmers to plant more, investors to build infrastructure and exporters to develop new supply chains. But the real opportunity comes when access becomes repeat business. For South African agriculture, the challenge now is to turn China's growing appetite into long-term demand that supports production, investment and stronger value chains at home.
