ZIMBABWE’S export promotion body, ZimTrade, is now preoccupied with capacitating pecan nut and chilli producers in Manicaland to increase production and quality standards following huge interest shown by Chinese horticultural buyers who were in the country last week.
China is the largest market for tree nuts and is not importing chillies from Africa — both opportunities which can be exploited by farmers in the province who have the best climate for growing pecan nuts and expertise in producing high-quality chillies.
ZimTrade Eastern Region manager, Mr Admire Jongwe, said the country intends to increase the export of agricultural products to Asia by 25 percent, and high-demand products such as pecan nuts and chillies should find their way into the Chinese market, whose buyers expressed interest in importing them.
“The recently concluded Zimbabwe–China Buyers’ Engagement programme represented a significant milestone in ZimTrade’s ongoing efforts to diversify Zimbabwe’s export markets and deepen trade linkages with Asia. The programme brought together a delegation of verified Chinese buyers with Zimbabwean farmers and producer associations specialising in pecan nuts and chillies, two commodities that have attracted growing interest from Chinese importers due to their quality profile and relatively limited supply from competing African origins. The primary objective was threefold – to facilitate direct market linkages between buyers and producers, assess the export readiness of participating farmers, and identify opportunities for value chain development that could enhance the competitiveness of Zimbabwean agricultural exports in the Chinese market.
“The strategic importance of the Chinese market for both pecan nuts and chillies cannot be overstated. China is currently the world’s largest consumer of tree nuts, with pecan imports growing at an estimated 18 percent annually as middle-class demand for health foods accelerates. Similarly, demand for dried chillies and chilli-based products in China has expanded significantly, driven by the popularity of Sichuan cuisine and processed food manufacturing. Zimbabwe’s pecan nuts, grown largely under rain-fed, chemical-light conditions in favourable agro-climatic zones, carry a naturally premium positioning that resonates with quality-conscious Chinese buyers. This engagement is not an isolated initiative — it is firmly embedded within ZimTrade’s broader Asia Market Development Strategy, which targets a 25 percent increase in agricultural export value to Asian markets over the next three years,” he said.
Mr Jongwe added that most of the small-scale pecan nut and chilli farmers are producing the right varieties wanted on the international market and large commercial farmers have the required certifications to export.
“ZimTrade’s assessment, informed by the structured farm evaluations conducted during the engagement programme, is that pecan nut and chilli farmers are at varying stages of export readiness, with a significant portion best described as partially ready or in active transition, rather than fully export-ready in the conventional sense. On the positive side, the agronomic quality of produce encountered across the visited clusters was notably strong. Chinese buyers expressed genuine satisfaction with the flavour profiles of Zimbabwe’s bird’s eye and cayenne chilli varieties, and with the size, oil content, and shell integrity of locally grown pecans. This confirms that the foundational asset — quality produce — is present. Furthermore, several of the larger commercial pecan producers already maintain basic traceability systems and have some familiarity with Global G.A.P. standards, positioning them closest to immediate export viability,” said Mr Jongwe.
Mr Brandon Bobby, of Mattana Farm in Vumba, who is into pecan nut farming where he also value-adds the produce to produce high-value oil and other related products, said they are working to increase production to meet the demands of the Chinese market.
“We have had a pecan orchard since 2019. We are now looking forward to adding value to the nuts. In the past we used to sell raw pecan nuts. We have invested in a processing facility where we extract oil from the nuts and also package the nuts into smaller packs targeting children. We are targeting the export market. We see great potential in the export market and we got a very good response from the Chinese market and what is left is to improve on our capacity to supply those bigger markets,” said Mr Bobby.
Ends-herald
ZimTrade pushes for pecan nut, chilli exports
