HARARE, Oct. 30 -- Trade between Zimbabwe and China grew 25.6 percent to 3 billion U.S. dollars in the first nine months of this year, according to the Chinese Embassy in Zimbabwe Wednesday.

Zimbabwe exported 2.1 billion U.S. dollars worth of goods to China and imported 951 million U.S. dollars, with a trade surplus of around 1 billion U.S. dollars, the embassy said on X, formerly Twitter.

The export of tobacco to China increased 38.3 percent to 790 million U.S. dollars in the period, accounting for 40.6 percent of the total exports to China.

Trade between China and Zimbabwe has experienced positive growth in recent years, primarily driven by minerals and tobacco exports to China.

Zimbabwe's agricultural exports to China are also expected to further grow, after Zimbabwe and China in September signed a protocol on avocado exports to China, following yet another trade protocol for the export of sweet citrus to China signed in 2022, which resulted in Zimbabwe's first shipment in 2023.