South Africa's plums and peaches have been approved for entry, expected to supply during the Spring Festival period.

The agreement for South African stone fruit to gain access to the Chinese market was completed and signed on October 15, and after customs updates the list of South African exporters, it is expected to catch the 2026 Spring Festival period. Next, South Africa will strive to export cherries and blueberries to China, with related negotiation work expected to be completed in 2026.

It is understood that the planting area of stone fruit in South Africa is approximately 16,000 hectares, with stone fruit export time lasting from October to March and April of the following year, coinciding with the winter and spring seasons in China, meeting the demand of the Chinese market in the off-season. Thanks to strong weather conditions during winter and the flowering period, the fruit set rate and fruit quality in most production areas this season are excellent.

In the 25/26 production season, South African peach exports are expected to increase by 3%, reaching 1.94 million boxes (2.5 kg/box); nectarine (mainly yellow-flesh nectarine) is expected to increase by 18%, reaching 12.26 million boxes (2.5 kg/box); apricot exports are expected to be 720,000 boxes (4.75 kg/box), a decrease of 3% from the previous season; and plum exports are expected to increase by 2%, reaching 15.1 million boxes (5.25 kg/box).

The announcement shows that the quarantine pests of concern to the Chinese side include the apple codling moth, Mediterranean fruit fly, mango fruit fly, five-spotted fruit fly, Queensland fruit fly, Natal fruit fly, apple codling moth, South African carnation tortrix, apple leaf roller, African oyster scale, long-tailed mealybug, western flower thrips, black peach aphid, ulcer disease bacteria of stone fruit trees, and plum pox virus 1.

Stone fruit orchards exporting to China should be established and implement good agricultural practices (GAP) under the supervision of the South, and execute integrated pest management (IPM) to avoid or minimize the occurrence of quarantine pests of concern to the Chinese side on stone fruit. The specific monitoring plan and integrated management measures for pests must be approved by the South and should be required to provide to the Chinese side.

During the post-harvest processing and packaging of stone fruit, it should undergo selection and grading processes to ensure that it does not carry any live insects, defective fruits, branches, leaves, soil, etc. For fruit flies and apple codling moths, South African stone fruit should be subjected to cold treatment or fumigation treatment under the supervision of the South or its authorized personnel.

The cold treatment index requirement is -0.6°C or below (fruit flesh temperature), with continuous treatment for 22 days or more. For fumigation treatment, methyl bromide fumigant is used: temperature at 21.1°C or above, fumigant dosage of 32 g/m3, with a fumigation duration of no less than 2 hours under normal atmospheric pressure conditions; and during fumigation, the minimum concentration should not be less than 26 g/m3 after 0.5 hours, and not less than 16 g/m3 after 2 hours.