Farai Mabeza
Zimbabwe is stepping up efforts to increase the contribution of manufactured goods to its export basket, with ZimTrade and the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) formalising a partnership aimed at strengthening the country’s export-oriented manufacturing sector.
Speaking at the Export Manufacturers Forum Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signing ceremony in Harare on Friday, ZimTrade chief executive Allan Majuru said Zimbabwe’s export performance had been encouraging, but warned that the country still needed to address the heavy dependence on primary commodities.
“Zimbabwe’s export performance has been encouraging. In 2025, merchandise exports reached approximately US$9.7 billion, increasing from US$7.43 billion in 2024,” Majuru said.
He said the positive trend had continued into 2026, with merchandise exports reaching approximately US$5.89 billion during the first six months of the year.
“Beneath those headline figures lies an important structural challenge. In the first half of 2026, primary commodities accounted for approximately 93.5 percent of Zimbabwe’s merchandise exports, while value-added products accounted for only 6.1 percent,” Majuru said.
“Our challenge, therefore, is no longer simply to grow exports but to transform the composition of those exports.”
Majuru said Zimbabwe needed to reposition itself as a producer of finished and manufactured goods rather than primarily an exporter of raw materials.
“We need to move to a scenario where Zimbabwe is recognised not only for the resources that come out of our ground and farms, but for the products designed and manufactured in our factories,” he said.
There are, however, signs of progress. Majuru said exports of value-added products increased by approximately 44 percent in the first half of 2026, rising from about US$249 million to US$358 million, driven by growth in engineering products, chemicals and manufactured tobacco.
CZI chief executive Sekai Kuvakira said the partnership was intended to translate Zimbabwe’s market access opportunities into tangible economic activity.
“We want more Zimbabwean manufacturers exporting. We want those already exporting to expand into more markets and move into higher-value products,” Kuvakira said.
She said manufacturers needed to compete on “quality, productivity, standards, cost and reliability” while taking greater advantage of opportunities created by SADC, COMESA and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
The partnership seeks to improve coordination between market access initiatives and manufacturing development, moving beyond isolated interventions such as trade fairs, export training, certification support and buyer linkages.
Kuvakira said Zimbabwe’s considerable manufacturing capability remained underutilised, with manufactured exports still accounting for less than 10 percent of total exports.
The MOU therefore represents an effort to move Zimbabwe’s export strategy “from market access to market penetration”, with increased production, exports, investment and job creation as the intended outcomes.
