Zoo bosses will pay half the previous agreed fee to keep pandas Sweetie and Sunshine in Scotland.
The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) announced it had extended its 10-year loan deal with China for the pair.
It has cost about £750,000 a year to keep the pandas at Edinburgh Zoo since 2011.
However Tian Tian and Yang Guang will now cost about £375,000 a year before they return home at the end of 2023.
The RZSS said: “Caring for Tian Tian and Yang Guang, including their food and overall healthcare, costs our charity £35,000 each month.
“The extended agreement includes an annual payment of $500,000. This is often referred to as a loan payment when, in fact, this donation supports giant panda conservation, welfare and research in China.”
David Field, RZSS chief executive, said of the reduced sum: “We have kind of missed two years of the agreement because of the pandemic so far."
Field said the pandas will return to China in 2023, by which time they will be 20.
He added: “They will be going home – they’re China’s pandas. Extending the agreement also gives people a chance to come and say goodbye.”
Sweetie produced twins prior to coming to Scotland but efforts to produce a cub here have failed. Sunshine got cancer in 2018, and was castrated.
Breeding will not be attempted in the two-year extended period.
