Online Reporter
THE huge jump in gross domestic product last year of 8,29 percent was higher than forecast and while the recovery of farming from the previous year was a factor, this jump in national wealth was driven by all parts of the economy, with manufacturing now in first place and mining in second.
We were an almost US$60 billion economy by the end of last year, and obviously are well above that figure as we keep growing in the first half of this year.
Even in the severe drought of the 2023-2024 season the previous year, which impacted into the 2024 figures, Zimbabwe still managed 1,74 percent growth in 2024, showing both the spread and resilience of the economy. We are no longer a single sector economy, or even just a producer of primary raw materials.
ZimStat, the agency responsible for bringing together all the figures, does this very carefully so everything is included, which is why we have to wait until almost the middle of the year before we get the final numbers. We knew we had done well, and that helped boost further serious growth this year, but the actual extent of that growth was still a very pleasant surprise.
The width of our economy, as well as the depth, means that while drought will hit agriculture, and the instability of global mineral prices will always be a factor, we can anchor growth year-in and year-out on the value addition sectors: manufacturing, wholesale and retail, financial services and tourism and hospitality.
When all the major bits come together, as they largely did last year, the growth rate will be very high. But the true strength of our economy is seen in the bad years, when we keep growing if not so spectacularly as in the best years.
We are the creators now of our future, and a fair amount of major planning is working out how we can cope, with growth, in the not so good years and how we can press down on the accelerator in the better years. Fairly obviously last year not just the farmers were prepared for a better season. Everyone else was ready too which is why we had the spectacular growth.
Agriculture soared forward last year by 27,9 percent, after the 15 percent drop in 2024. Those two figures mean that agriculture was not only able to catch up on the drought, but recorded a high level of real growth over the 2023 figures. Our farmers are getting better, losing less in a drought and able to surge ahead far faster when good rains fall.
Farming still remains the largest single contributor to how many Zimbabweans earn their living, although it possibly does not even include a majority of the rural population as many other value adding businesses and the like keep growing. But it still remains the anchor of the rural economy, and when farmers do well, everyone has some extra money and when drought strikes everyone feels the strain.
Even with good farm output, manufacturing still remains in the top slot as the biggest contributor to the Zimbabwean economy, contributing 16,8 percent of total output. But a fair amount of manufacturing is, correctly, based on adding value to what farmers grow, turning harvests into food and bags and boxes of food products on our shop shelves.
We need to move far beyond selling crop surpluses, or for that matter export cash crops like tobacco, and start think about selling manufactured foods, manufactured cigarettes and eventually manufactured industrial products from our mineral raw materials. This is where the real money can be found and where so many of future new jobs will be created.
The higher than expected growth last year has seen the forecasts for growth this year increased, from around 6 percent to 6,6 percent, as it is fairly obvious that Zimbabweans are pushing the growth more than we all expected.
There are growing probabilities of an El Nino bringing some sort of drought next season. But we are learning all the time to minimise the effects and it would be most surprising if agriculture lost as much as 15 percent in value next year, with that loss far more easily absorbed by higher growth in manufacturing and mining, especially as mineral beneficiation accelerates.
The detailed figures of exceptional growth show just where Zimbabwean farmers, miners, manufacturers and other business owners are taking advantage of the opportunities created by Government policies to add to their own wealth and thus add to national wealth.
