HARARE, Jan 20 (NNN-IRIN) – Zimbabwe’s exports of manufactured or valued added products, increased 13 percent to 334 million U.S. dollars, in the first 11 months of 2022, compared to 295 million U.S. dollars during the same period in 2021, trade promotion body ZimTrade said yesterday.
Zimbabwe has been on a drive to ensure that extractors of raw materials beneficiate them, before exporting, so that the country earns more foreign currency.
Recently, the country banned the exportation of raw lithium ore, pushing miners to install processing plants.
Responding to questions, ZimTrade operations director, Similo Nkala, said, apart from other export destinations, ZimTrade would, this year, conduct a market scanning in Saudi Arabia, in an effort to explore more export opportunities for local products in the Middle East.
The country has already made inroads in Asia, where the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and China are among its top three trading partners.
Nkala said, inclusivity was key to achieving sustainable export growth, and capacity development initiatives that empowered businesses, would guarantee steady foreign currency income for the country.
“ZimTrade, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, will continue to propel programmes that integrate previously marginalised groups in export business,” he said. “A focus on the development of provincial clusters has not only ensured that we leverage Zimbabwe’s natural endowments for export, but also allowed for smallholder farmers across the country to contribute to national exports.”
He said, a good example of the initiative was a ZimTrade pilot project in south-eastern Zimbabwe, that saw more than 40 smallholder farmers, attaining organic certification to export pineapples to Europe.
“This project is expected to continue this year with 200 smallholder farmers added to the programme,” Nkala said. “Such projects – like the Ndiyadzo Pineapple Project – are meant to inculcate international certification compliance, among the smallholder farmers so that they can also tap into the high-end export market.”
Zimbabwe’s exports stood at 5.9 billion U.S. dollars for the first 11 months of 2022, up 9.2 percent, when compared to the 5.4 billion U.S. dollars recorded during the same period in 2021.
Nkala said, this boost in exports could be attributed to the various efforts made by the government, along with related agencies like ZimTrade, which facilitated export promotional activities, such as outward missions and trade fair participation.
“These activities have raised the profile of Zimbabwean products and generated interest from markets around the world,” Nkala said. “With the continued demand for organic and fresh produce in Europe and the Middle East, there is a great potential for Zimbabwe to expand exports, with a high likelihood of surpassing the seven-billion-U.S. dollar-mark, in 2023.”
