China has enhanced its ‘Green Channel’ policy to accelerate customs clearance for agricultural products from Africa, with a particular focus on fresh produce, as part of broader efforts to increase agricultural trade and improve market access for exporters across the continent.
The disclosure was made on Monday by Shuai Guipeng, Deputy Director of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Office at China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, during a presentation on China-Africa relations, progress in implementing the outcomes of the FOCAC Beijing Summit and the country’s Zero-Tariff Policy.
Guipeng explained that the upgraded arrangement was introduced to address challenges associated with the long geographical distance between China and African countries, particularly issues relating to transportation, storage and the preservation of perishable agricultural commodities.
According to him, China’s General Administration of Customs has strengthened the Green Channel initiative to ensure faster and more efficient customs processing for agricultural exports originating from African countries.
He made the clarification while responding to concerns raised by African journalists regarding delays in the clearance of fresh produce exports. The concerns referenced the export of stone fruits from South Africa, where prolonged customs procedures could reduce product quality because of the highly perishable nature of the commodities.
Guipeng said China was also reviewing its market access process by shifting away from negotiating export approvals for agricultural commodities individually and replacing it with a broader package-based approach.
”In the past, we negotiated with African countries about market access for those fresh products one by one, separately for different kinds of products. Now we are considering package negotiations on agricultural and food products,” he said.
He explained that products including citrus fruits, oranges and blueberries could be grouped together under the proposed arrangement to simplify negotiations and improve the efficiency of customs clearance procedures.
The Chinese official further stated that discussions would continue with African countries on a bilateral basis to determine which agricultural commodities could benefit from easier access to the Chinese market.
He also revealed that China was engaging with its Ministry of Agriculture on the implementation of a zero-tariff policy for African agricultural and food exports, while also supporting infrastructure development and industrial expansion initiatives across the continent.
According to Guipeng, improving production capacity and increasing value addition in Africa’s agricultural sector would create more opportunities for products from the continent to gain entry into the Chinese market.
