Pineapples from Benin make their debut during the sixth China International Import Expo in Shanghai. (People’s Daily Overseas Edition/Zhang Wujun)
A shipment of mutton from Madagascar was cleared at Changsha Customs in central China’s Hunan Province on Sept. 8, marking China’s first mutton imports from Africa. Analysts said that this shipment marked an important breakthrough in the China-Africa meat trade, and the deepening and expansion of cooperation between the two sides.
In recent years, the import of agricultural products has become a bright spot in China-Africa bilateral trade. African agricultural products have offered more options to Chinese consumers and created more market opportunities for African countries.
African agricultural products growing presence in China
The mutton was shipped by air from Madagascar to Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in Guangzhou, capital of south China’s Guangdong Province and then transported by road to Changsha, with the entire delivery time taking approximately 36 hours. The Madagascar mutton will be sold in various restaurants and supermarkets across Hunan.
China signed an agreement with Madagascar to allow the mutton trade during the third China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo in Changsha last year. Consequently, Changsha Customs formed a task force to guide Madagascan meat producers on quality management and official procedures.
In recent years, more and more high-quality agricultural products from Africa are entering the Chinese market at an accelerated pace, through platforms such as the China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo.
Data indicated that the 2023 China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo’s permanent exhibition hall saw on-site sales surpass 2 million yuan (about $281,788), with 37 signed orders for products like purple tea, seafood, and lamb, totaling an intended cooperation value of 43.9 billion yuan.
China has remained Africa’s largest trading partner for 15 consecutive years and has become the second leading export destination for African agricultural products. Statistics indicated that in the first seven months of 2024, China imported 25.35 billion yuan of agricultural products from Africa, an increase of 7.2 percent, a rate higher than the overall growth rate of China’s agricultural product imports.
The import volume of African specialty agricultural products such as sesame, flue-cured tobacco and macadamia nuts increased by 38.8 percent, 32.7 percent and 106.2 percent respectively, accounting for more than 40 percent of China’s import volume of similar products.
During the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), which took place in Beijing in early September, China signed cooperation agreements with many African countries on the export of agricultural products. This included an agreement with Zimbabwe on the export of fresh avocadoes, an agreement with Zambia on the export of soybeans, an agreement with Mozambique on the export of pigeon peas, macadamia nuts and cashew nuts, an agreement with Namibia on the export of sheep and goat meat, and an agreement with Rwanda on the export of bee honey.
Rolling out various measures to promote the export of high-quality agricultural products from Africa
In recent years, an increasing variety of agricultural products from Africa have made their way into the Chinese market. This is driven by several factors, including China’s opening of its market to African products, setting up “green lanes” for importing these goods, and reducing trade costs, said Li Guoxiang, a researcher at the Rural Development Institute, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
China has given support in transportation and logistics to boost the export of African agricultural products, and strengthened cooperation with Africa in funding, talent, equipment, technology, and management to enhance the modernization of African agriculture, Li added.
China has always emphasized promoting the import of high-quality agricultural products from Africa. During the Eighth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Senegal in 2021, China announced that it would open “green lanes” for African agricultural exports to China, speed up the inspection and quarantine procedures, and further increase the scope of products enjoying zero-tariff treatment for the least developed countries (LDCs) having diplomatic relations with China.
By the end of August this year, China has signed 22 protocols with 14 African countries allowing their agricultural products access to the Chinese market.
During the 2024 FOCAC summit, China decided to give all LDCs holding diplomatic relations with China, including 33 countries in Africa, zero-tariff treatment for 100 percent tariff lines.
Li expressed that providing zero-tariff treatment will promote trade liberalization and facilitation, reduce costs associated with the export of African agricultural products, and enhance their competitiveness in the Chinese market.
Furthermore, China has entered into agreements with several African countries to import agricultural products. This will facilitate cooperation between Chinese companies and their African counterparts, promote the enhancement and branding of agricultural production, strengthen the agricultural industry chain, and raise the value of products in Africa. Consequently, this will expedite the modernization of agriculture in Africa.
Helping African countries increase agricultural production
While actively promoting the import of African agricultural products, China has consistently focused on developing agricultural expertise, injecting vitality into the growth of African agriculture.
Over the past decade, China has set up 24 agricultural technology demonstration centers in Africa, and introduced more than 300 advanced agricultural technologies. These efforts have led to a significant increase in local crop yields, benefiting over 1 million small-scale African farmers.
Chinese hybrid rice and Juncao technology have successfully been adopted and are thriving in Africa. Chinese hybrid rice is now cultivated in more than 20 African countries, boosting rice yields from an average of 2 tonnes per hectare to 7.5 tonnes.
Song Wei, a professor at the School of International Relations and Diplomacy, Beijing Foreign Studies University, noted that the increase in the trade of agricultural products between China and Africa reflects the highly complementary nature of the two sides in this respect.
Looking ahead, China is expected to further facilitate the import of African agricultural products and send more agricultural experts to assist in cultivating high-quality crops. Additionally, China plans to increase investment in processing African agricultural products to help modernize the local agricultural sector. These measures will not only help Africa expand the export of agricultural products but also help it achieve food self-sufficiency.