By Bill Blackie, Chief Executive of Business and Commercial Banking at Standard Bank Group
African exporters are using lower import duties and improved market access to diversify into additional international markets, with early shipments from South Africa, Kenya, Zimbabwe and Nigeria already processed under a new zero-tariff framework. For many businesses, the emerging opportunity is not only to reduce landed costs, but to broaden export destinations, improve route-to-market resilience and reduce reliance on a narrow set of trading partners. While China’s zero-tariff policy opens new market-access opportunities, enhanced renminbi (RMB) settlement and payment capabilities are helping businesses convert those opportunities into tangible trade flows by reducing transaction friction and improving efficiency across the Africa-China trade corridor.
Every trade relationship ultimately rests on two questions: what does it cost, and can it be relied upon. Since China’s zero-tariff framework for eligible African exports came into effect on 1 May 2026, the answer to both is beginning to look considerably more favourable, and the businesses that have moved first are already realising the benefit.
The cost impact is immediate and measurable
This is not a policy whose benefits remain theoretical. Early shipments entering China under the framework are already generating tariff savings and have prompted importers to project significant annual cost reductions across a range of products:
- South African apples: the first shipment to clear Shenzhen Bay Port under the new framework benefited from the removal of a previous 10% tariff. The importer estimated savings of approximately RMB20,000 (approximately 323,000 South African rand) on that shipment and projected annual savings exceeding US$1.47 million (approximately R23.74 million) based on historical import volumes.
- South African wine: more than 6,000 bottles of South African wine cleared customs under the framework, generating tariff savings of approximately US$3,090 (approximately R49,904) on the shipment. The importer has projected annual savings of approximately US$735,300 (approximately R11.88 million).
- Kenyan coffee: Kenyan coffee, previously subject to an 8% tariff, has begun entering China under the zero-tariff framework. One importer has projected annual savings of more than US$1.47 million based on historical import volumes (approximately R23.74 million).
- South African cut flowers: a shipment of more than 7,000 stems cleared customs under the framework, generating duty savings of more than US$1,176 (approximately R18,992) on the consignment.
- Nigerian bovine bone products: one logistics company representing a large importer projected annual savings of nearly US$441,180 (approximately R7.13 million) following the removal of previously applicable import duties.
Zimbabwean tobacco, Kenyan avocado oil and West African cocoa are moving under the same regime. Across agriculture, agri-processing and industrial goods, these early shipments provide a practical indication of how lower tariffs can improve competitiveness and reduce the cost of market access for African exporters.
A more stable bilateral relationship is reshaping where supply chains point
Cost is the immediate story. The more significant development is what this signals about the reliability of the corridor, and the direction in which it is steering supply chains. Africa-China trade reached US$348 billion approximately R5.62 trillion in 2025. Standard Bank’s latest Africa Trade Barometer illustrates this shift clearly: Asian countries are now the preferred trading partners for 35% of businesses surveyed across ten African markets, up markedly from 24% in 2024, while China remains a critical source of imported inputs, cited by 67% of respondents.
This reflects a corridor being deliberately incorporated into core strategy, rather than tested opportunistically. For businesses managing exposure to disruption elsewhere, shipping delays, tariff volatility in traditional markets, a more competitive and more predictable route to China is becoming a genuine hedge, rather than merely a discount.
Charl Rudman, International Sales Manager at Carmién Tea, described the shift in similar terms: “As we face a more uncertain world regarding market access, due to disruptions in shipping routes and higher tariffs imposed on South African goods in some traditional markets, it is crucial that we identify alternative export destinations. The Chinese market opened up for us exactly when we needed it most.”
The commercial response is already evident. “Formal retail has started considering Rooibos, while bulk tea buyers are exploring opportunities to package the product locally in China,” Rudman notes. Carmién now expects China to become one of its most important export markets, with the potential to rival established destinations such as Japan, spanning e-commerce, retail, tea packers and hospitality channels.
Cost savings will only be realised if the underlying friction is addressed
A critical factor determines whether these savings ultimately reach a business’s balance sheet: the majority of Africa-China trade remains invoiced in US dollars, despite neither trading partner operating in dollars domestically. This results in multiple currency conversions, additional costs and slower settlement, friction that can quietly erode the margin a zero-tariff line has just created.
It is for this reason that renminbi settlement capability is now as strategically significant as the tariff policy itself. Standard Bank has built an integrated ecosystem across payments, foreign exchange, trade finance and risk management for clients trading with China, underpinned by a strategic partnership with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC). Through our participation in the Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS), we are live in ten African markets, providing clients with direct connectivity to China’s financial system and real-time payment capability that can settle funds in minutes rather than days. This includes trade finance instruments such as Letters of Credit (LCs) in renminbi to structure cross-border transactions. New shipping routes between China and Southern Africa, alongside continued rail corridor investment, are closing the physical gap in parallel.
This infrastructure is set to deepen further. From April 2027, renminbi clearing will become available to other financial institutions, enabling a bank in Nairobi, Lusaka or Lagos to offer renminbi accounts and payments without having to establish its own relationships in China. Later that year, access to onshore and offshore renminbi liquidity will widen through the China Foreign Exchange Trade System (CFETS), the marketplace in which the currency is bought and sold. This will be accompanied by the arrival of panda bonds, renminbi-denominated debt issued inside China by foreign borrowers, enabling African issuers to raise capital in China rather than only sell goods into it.
What this means for your business
Lower duties make exports more competitive on price. A more stable, better-connected corridor makes that competitiveness durable rather than a one-off saving. We are already observing clients use this combination to diversify away from concentrated risk, establish new buyer relationships and accelerate market-entry plans that had previously been shelved.
The businesses that stand to benefit most will not simply be those that captured the tariff reduction. They will be the businesses that combine it with the settlement, payment and market-connectivity infrastructure required to make the corridor a stable and scalable part of how they trade.
Zero tariffs have changed the cost equation. What follows is a genuine shift in where supply chains are anchored.
