Zimbabwe is seeking to expand its fast-growing blueberry industry after gaining access to the lucrative Chinese market, but farmers say a lack of affordable financing is limiting their ability to scale up production
The southern African country shipped its first consignment of blueberries to China in July, following a phytosanitary agreement signed a year earlier and Beijing’s decision in May to scrap tariffs on imports from 53 African countries.
For farmers such as those at Forrester Estates, about 100 kilometres (60 miles) north of Harare, the new market presents an opportunity for major expansion.
Farm managers seek to double the farm’s blueberry planting area to 50 hectares (124 acres) next year to meet rising demand.
“The funding, that’s the problem,” farm manager Albert Chakala said.
Chakala said the farm is already struggling to produce enough blueberries to meet demand.
“The crop that we have is not enough to satisfy our market,” he said.
Each additional hectare of blueberries requires an upfront investment of between $50,000 and $55,000, mainly for irrigation, planting material and other infrastructure, he said.
“We are expanding bit by bit, according to what we are getting back from what we sell,” Chakala said.
Zimbabwe is Africa’s third-largest blueberry producer after Morocco and South Africa and is among the world’s fastest-growing blueberry producers, according to the Horticultural Development Council (HDC).
The country already exports blueberries to European, British and Middle Eastern markets. But China, one of the world’s largest consumers of the fruit, offers the potential for a significant expansion of Zimbabwe’s blueberry industry.
The HDC says access to affordable finance remains one of the biggest barriers to growth for Zimbabwean farmers.
Yet the promise of new international markets is being constrained by the country’s ongoing monetary challenges, with foreign-exchange shortages making it difficult for farmers to finance the expansion needed to meet growing demand.
Financing ‘a big worry
“Zimbabwe’s blueberry industry expects to export about 12,000 tonnes this year from around 850 hectares, up from 9,500 tonnes produced on 650 hectares last year,” HDC chief executive Linda Nielsen said in a statement in June.
Nielsen said “the sector was engaging with the government over more competitive export financing and targeted tax incentives for investments in irrigation, solar power and cold-chain infrastructure.”
“The lack of adequate financing is a big worry for growers,” she said.
The financing challenge could also affect efforts to bring more indigenous farmers into the blueberry industry.
Most of Zimbabwe’s blueberry producers are established white commercial farmers whose families have farmed for many years, said Clarence Mwale, chairman of the Export Produce Growers Association of Zimbabwe.
He said the opening of new markets such as China could create opportunities for indigenous farmers to enter the sector.
“With the opening of new markets like the Chinese market, it allows indigenous farmers to find space to also grow crops like blueberries,” Mwale explained But he said farmers would need access to cheaper, longer-term financing to take advantage of the opportunity.
“If we can attract foreign direct investment, foreign facilities, foreign loans, patient money, patient capital, then perhaps we can start talking about better platforms for new farmers to come in,” Mwale said.
“As it is, we have access to money locally, but it’s very expensive money,” he added, referring to high interest rates on bank loans.
Looking beyond tobacco
Zimbabwe remains Africa’s leading tobacco producer, and tobacco has for decades been the country’s dominant agricultural export.
Production reached 355,000 tonnes in 2025, according to the country’s tobacco board, with China among the biggest buyers.
China is also a major destination for Zimbabwe’s lithium and chromium ore exports.
Although blueberry production remains far smaller than tobacco, Mwale believes the huge Chinese market could encourage a new generation of farmers to diversify into the fruit.
He said; “My commitment is to try and convince more young people to grow more blueberries and move away from growing tobacco.
“I think that it’s an opportunity that we can utilise to try and replace 100 years of growing tobacco with something more health-focused.”
African News
