On September 19, the official website of the General Administration of Customs of China issued an announcement to relax the requirements for the import of fresh blueberries from Zambia, allowing the cold treatment of blueberries during transportation.

Zambia is the first country in southern Africa to receive blueberries from Chinese customs. The General Administration of Customs of China and the Ministry of Agriculture of Zambia signed the Protocol on phytosanitary requirements for Zambia's fresh blueberries exported to China on September 7, 2020, and Zambia exported the first batch of blueberries to China on November 13 of the same year, but the local production conditions were difficult to meet the cold treatment requirements.

At present, only blueberries produced in Chisamba, Zambia, are allowed to be exported to China, and only two plantations and one packaging plant in the region have been issued export codes by customs, all belonging to Zambezi Berry Company. As Zambia is a landlocked country in southern Africa, most products are shipped to China via Cape Town in South Africa or Walvis Bay in Namibia.

The announcement shows that the requirements for Zambian blueberry cold treatment are still 1.11°C or below continuous cold treatment for 15 days, 1.67°C or below continuous cold treatment for 17 days, or 2.22°C or below continuous cold treatment for 21 days. However, restrictions on the location of the cold treatment process have been relaxed, and blueberries can be cold treated before export or during transportation.