Mo Ali

Plums are one of the five stone fruits, alongside apricots, peaches, nectarines and prunes, that will soon be exported from South Africa to China under a new trade deal.

Pietro Duplessis runs the operations at Bon Esperance.

The workers at Bon Esperance are busy trimming the taller branches of the plum trees to allow the fruit to get maximum exposure to the sun in preparation for the harvest early in the new year.

Stone fruit producers like Pietro are fully aware of the different tastes of their markets and they produce accordingly.

John Steenhuizen is South Africa's Minister of Agriculture.

According to China's customs data, the country's appetite for stone fruit continues to surge, with imports reaching 21 million cartons of peaches and nectarines and 20 million cartons of plums in 2024 alone, volumes that exceed South Africa's entire seasonal export capacity.

After the gloom following the announcement of 30% tariffs on their products exported to the U.S., there's now a renewed sense of optimism among stone fruit farmers in South Africa as a big new market in China beckons.

In Cape Town, I'm the BBC's Mo Ali for Marketplace.

I'm at the Bon Esperance farm in the beautiful winelands and farming region of Stellenbosch, about 45 kilometers east of Cape Town.

Plums are one of the five stone fruits alongside apricots, peaches, nectarines and prunes that will soon be exported from South Africa to China under a new trade deal.

Pietro Duplessis runs the operations at Bon Esperance.

The workers at Bon Esperance are busy trimming the taller branches of the plum trees to allow the fruit to get maximum exposure to the sun in preparation for the harvest early in the new year.

Stone fruit producers like Pietro are fully aware of the different tastes of their markets and they produce accordingly.

John Steenhuizen is South Africa's Minister of Agriculture.

is excited about the prospect of fruit exports reaching a potentially lucrative new market.

According to China's customs data, the country's appetite for stone fruit continues to surge, with imports reaching 21 million cartons of peaches and nectarines and 20 million cartons of plums in 2024 alone, volumes that exceed South Africa's entire seasonal export capacity.

The agreement provides a great opportunity for expansion in South Africa's stone fruit farming industry.

After the gloom following the announcement in April of 30% tariffs on their products exported to the US, there's now a renewed sense of optimism among stone fruit farmers in South Africa as a big new market in China beckons.

In Cape Town, I'm the BBC's Mo Ali for Marketplace.