非洲樱桃种植户格特·埃斯特斯（Gert Eastes）花了12年时间准备打开中国市场。如今，随着北京对符合条件的南非出口商品实施零关税计划，并首次向该国的樱桃开放市场，这一努力似乎接近得到回报。
African cherry farmer Gert Eastes has spent 12 years preparing to break into China. Now, with Beijing introducing a zero-tariff scheme for qualifying South African exports and opening its market to the country's cherries for the first time, that effort looks close to paying off.
里奇樱桃农场（Ridge Cherry Farms）首席执行官埃斯特斯说：“我们已经为此请求很长时间了。”
"We've been asking for this for ages," said Eastes, CEO of Ridge Cherry Farms.
南非目前正在极力推动出口目的地的多元化，这一战略既是由利用新市场的愿望所驱动，也是为了减轻与世界最大经济体美国关系恶化所带来的负面影响。
South Africa is in the midst of a push to diversify its export destinations, a strategy driven both by a desire to harness new markets and the need to mitigate the fallout from its declining relationship with the world's largest economy, the United States.
自从唐纳德·特朗普总统重返白宫以来，美南关系一直呈螺旋式下降，华盛顿批评比勒陀利亚的政府政策，加征关税，甚至威胁实施制裁。
Since President Donald Trump's return to the White House, relations between the US and South Africa have been on a downward spiral, with Washington criticising Pretoria's government policies, imposing tariffs and even threatening sanctions.
南非总统西里尔·拉马福萨周一表示，他的国家现在必须为可能被排除在《非洲增长与机遇法案》（AGOA）之外做好准备。《非洲增长与机遇法案》是华盛顿针对非洲的旗舰贸易倡议，允许符合条件的国家享有进入美国市场的广泛免关税待遇。
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Monday his country must now prepare for possible exclusion from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), Washington's flagship trade initiative for Africa, which grants qualifying countries broad duty-free access to the US market.
农产品是南非最重要的出口商品之一，该国正寻求开拓包括埃及、阿拉伯联合酋长国和更广泛的中东在内的新市场。但凭借超过10亿的消费者和不断上升的收入，中国才是最大的目标。
Agricultural products rank among South Africa's most important exports, and it is seeking to crack new markets including Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and the broader Middle East. But with over 1 billion consumers and rising incomes, China is the main prize.
长期以来，中国一直是全球最大的樱桃消费国和进口国，年进口量近6万公吨，智利和阿根廷是其最大的两个供应国。
China is by far the world's largest consumer and importer of cherries, buying nearly 600,000 metric tons a year, with Chile and Argentina its two biggest suppliers.
南非的樱桃产量仅占全球总量的0.2%，这使得南非种植者几乎没有希望在规模上展开竞争。相反，他们看到了时间上的机遇。
South Africa accounts for just 0.2% of global cherry volumes, leaving its growers little prospect of competing on scale. Instead, they see an opportunity in timing.
南非落叶水果种植协会（Hortgro）替代作物经理卡里安·贝祖伊登霍特（Karien Bezuidenhout）说：“如果我们能早点到那里，比如9月、10月初，这就为我们创造了在智利樱桃之前到达那里的机会。”她表示：“中国市场非常庞大。但南非樱桃具有极佳的口感。”
"If we can get there early, we'd say September, early October, that creates the opportunity for us to get there before the Chilean cherries," said Karien Bezuidenhout, manager of alternative crops at South Africa's deciduous fruit farming association, Hortgro. "The Chinese market is enormous. But South African cherries have got an excellent taste profile," she said.
在位于该国北部勒斯滕堡附近占地125公顷（309英亩）的农场里，埃斯特斯一直在改进生产，以便在10月收获并出口到中国。他的目标是将产量从600吨提高到最终达到2000吨。
At his 125-hectare (309-acre) farm near Rustenburg, in the country's north, Eastes has been refining production to harvest in October and export to China. He's aiming to boost his volumes from 600 tons to eventually reach 2,000 tons.
*埃斯特斯说：“如果我们能在10月向中国发送1000吨，那将改变我们的商业模式以及……我们发展业务的机会。”
"If we can send 1,000 tons in October to China, that changes our business model and ... the opportunities we have to grow the business," Eastes said.
《非洲增长与机遇法案》在2025年到期后，已于今年早些时候延期。但人们对该倡议的长期前景以及——在一些美国官员和议员威胁将其排除在外之后——南非是否能继续参与其中仍存疑问。华盛顿与比勒陀利亚之间的关系依然紧张。
After lapsing in 2025, AGOA was extended earlier this year. But questions remain over the initiative's long-term prospects and — following threats by some US officials and lawmakers to exclude it — South Africa's inclusion in it. Relations between Washington and Pretoria remain strained.
南非上个月召见了美国大使利奥·布伦特·博泽尔三世（Leo Brent Bozell III）——这是自他2月份抵任以来南非第三次召见他——指责其行为“不符合外交惯例”。
South Africa summoned US Ambassador Leo Brent Bozell III last month — the third time it had done so since his February arrival — accusing him of "undiplomatic" conduct.
与此同时，华盛顿正在推进一项计划，为南非白人阿非利卡人少数群体成员给予难民身份，比勒陀利亚称该倡议基于他们面临系统性迫害的虚假说法。
Washington, meanwhile, is forging ahead with a programme granting refugee status to members of South Africa's white Afrikaner minority, an initiative Pretoria says is based on false claims they face systematic persecution.
南非农业部长威利·奥坎普（Willie Aucamp）表示，尽管享有《非洲增长与机遇法案》的准入令人关切，但向中国进军并不是对美国的轻视，而是为了发展该行业的努力。
While AGOA access is a concern, South Africa's Agriculture Minister Willie Aucamp said the push into China was not a slight against the US but rather an effort to grow the sector.
他告诉路透社：“如果《非洲增长与机遇法案》得不到续签，我们不能坐等并被打个措手不及。我们必须去开拓新市场。”
"We can't wait and be caught with our pants around our ankles should AGOA not be renewed. We've got to go and open up new markets," he told Reuters.
南非农业商会（Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa）首席经济学家万迪尔·西洛博（Wandile Sihlobo）表示，樱桃只是中国市场机遇的一个小例子。
Cherries are just a small example of the opportunities in China, according to Wandile Sihlobo, chief economist at the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa.
他说，南非每年出口价值约150亿美元的农产品，而中国总共购买了约2000亿美元的农产品。
South Africa exports about $15 billion worth of agricultural products annually, he said, while China buys about $200 billion worth in total.
*西洛博说：“我们已经出口了我们生产的产品中的55%。未来几年，我们的出口额至少可以增长20%。”但障碍依然存在。
"We are already exporting 55% of what we produce. We could see our export value expanding by at least 20% over the coming years," Sihlobo said.
在南非能够发出第一批樱桃之前，中国必须确认其已满足北京的所有要求。奥坎普表示，他预计将在年底前获得该批准。
But hurdles remain. Before South Africa can send its first cherry shipment, China must confirm it has met all of Beijing's requirements. Aucamp said he expects that approval by the end of the year.
埃斯特斯持乐观态度，他已经准备好将目前约300人的季节性劳动力规模扩大两到四倍，以满足中国市场的需求。
Optimistic, Eastes is already preparing to potentially quadruple his current seasonal workforce of around 300 to meet Chinese demand.
他说：“我们已经准备好了。如果我今天需要出口一箱，我就会这么做。”
"We are ready to go. If I need to export a box today I will do that," he said.