Online Reporter
HORTICULTURE is rapidly becoming a major export sector for Zimbabwe and, while firmly in second place behind tobacco in terms of agricultural exports, is growing very fast indeed, doubling or even tripling each year and might well overtake tobacco before the decade is out.
We are not talking about small money. Last year we earned US$181,7 million from horticultural exports and this year, while we are still just starting the peak export months, there are estimates as high as US$500 million. This is by any standard a major boost for our farmers and the whole economy.
The major export markets continue to be Europe and Asia, with the Chinese market now driving the rapid expansion into Asia. New products, such as blueberries, have joined traditional horticulture exports, building up the range of what Zimbabwe can grow and sell.
Blueberries, which we only started growing in 2008, provided 900 000kg of exports last year with 1,9 million kg expected to be shipped this year, adding US$51 million to the export earnings.
All these markets, old and new, have very high standards that any supplier has to meet to gain access. For a start, the quality has to be first rate to be worth the price that air-freighted products or fast shipping require.
There are vast numbers of consumers prepared to pay a premium price, but only for a premium product. So consistency and very high quality is the first essential.
Secondly, most markets want strong guarantees that their horticulture imports are disease free and have laid down exacting standards to ensure this.
Since the products are going to be eaten, obviously, they also have to be free of all toxic or potentially toxic chemicals when they arrive at their markets. These days the major foreign buyers also want a reasonable amount of extra information, to make sure their rising standards are met and maintained and require or desire periodic inspections.
These standards, and the required quality, are not unreasonable or attempts to block imports with non-tariff barriers. The European Union, probably still the largest market, has gone to some lengths to support the Zimbabwean horticulture industry.
Horticulturalists have been getting significant assistance to enter the fast-growing Chinese market, with inter-Government protocols on exports of citrus in 2022, avocados in 2024, and blueberries last year. So while the standards are high, these are spelt out in detail with help to meet them, and there are no shifting goalposts or other impediments.
In both these markets, there is a strong element of establishing a good partnership between the major shippers and buyers, and for the Zimbabwean side to have an excellent reputation for quality and reliability. We are not selling to charities, but to buyers who supply sophisticated products and demanding shoppers who want the best.
This makes it important for Zimbabwe’s Horticulture Development Council to make sure that all growers, processors, packers and shippers will maintain the Zimbabwean reputation.
This is not impossible, but as the industry grows rapidly, the council may well require additional legal authority to encourage the respectable and police the whole industry so no one tarnishes its name.
Tobacco continues to boom thanks to the strong oversight of the Tobacco Industry Marketing Board, which licences everyone from the smallest grower to the biggest contractor, sets standards and encourages those who meet them to produce more, but is ruthless against side-marketing and wayward contractors.
Generally, horticultural products are perishables and have short shelf lives, so it is absolutely essential that when a buyer in a foreign market sees “Grown in Zimbabwe” on the label, they immediately know from their own increasing experience that this is a decent product that is safe to buy.
We should avoid as far as possible having just one or two major export crops. A broad range of horticultural products mean that we, and the farmers, can cope with any sudden gluts pushing down world prices for one product, or any other cyclic problem. But a broad range of products with the “Zimbabwe” label means every single one has to be at the top of its range.
At the same time, the Horticulture Development Council will need to ensure that fair internal contractual arrangements are followed and enforced between farmers, packhouses and shippers.
Considering Zimbabwean land tenure, a lot of medium-sized and small-scale farmers, the growing markets can benefit a lot of farmers, but they all have to be singing from the same hymn-sheet.
