By Draxon Maloya
HARARE:
Favourable climate conditions have enabled Zimbabwe to expand and start exporting blueberries to China, following an agreement on phytosanitary standards, an industry body announced on Thursday.
The agreement was concluded during Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s visit to China this week, where he met President Xi Jinping during commemorations to mark 80 years since Japan’s defeat at the end of World War Two.
According to the Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter, Zimbabwe’s Horticultural Development Council (HDC) said the agreement “opens the door for local growers to expand into one of the world’s fastest-growing blueberry markets”.
U.S. stocks closed slightly lower on Friday, with the Dow shedding almost half a percent, the S&P 500 dipping about a third of a percent and the Nasdaq ending roughly flat.
The scale of Zimbabwe’s blueberry exports to China would be guided by the new protocol’s sanitary and phytosanitary requirements and the related compliance costs, the HDC said in a statement.
Zimbabwe, whose blueberry production is among the fastest-growing globally, is projected to produce 12,000 metric tons of blueberries in 2025, from 8,000 metric tons in 2024.
Global consumption has increased in recent years due to its perceived health benefits and Zimbabwe, where climatic conditions allow high yields from open field planting and early delivery into export markets, is looking to capitalise on booming demand.
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