South African Apples Make Historic Entry Under China’s Zero-Tariff Policy

At midnight on May 1, a truck carrying 24 metric tons of fresh South African apples arrived at Shenzhen Bay Port. After inspection and clearance under the supervision of Shenzhen Customs, the shipment was officially allowed to enter China. This marks the first cargo to clear customs following China’s full implementation of zero-tariff measures for the 53 African countries with which it maintains diplomatic relations.

The import tariff on fresh South African apples has been reduced from 10% to 0%, significantly improving the cost advantage of the goods. Luo Shengcong, general manager of Shenzhen Kin Shing Yip International Agent Company Limited (深圳市健诚业国际货运代理有限公司), stated that the new policy means that approximately 20,000 Chinese yuan ($2,940) in tariffs were saved for this shipment.

Recently, the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council of China announced that from May 1, 2026, to April 30, 2028, a zero-tariff preferential rate will be applied to 20 African countries that have diplomatic relations with China but are not classified as least developed. For tariff-quota products, only the tariff rate within the quota will be reduced to zero, while the rate outside the quota remains unchanged. For the 33 least developed African countries with diplomatic relations with China, zero tariffs have been applied to 100% of their tariff lines since Dec. 1, 2024.

Image: Pixabay

This article was translated from Chinese. Read the original article.