Online Reporter
Nelson Gahadza-Senior Business Reporter
EQUITY research firm IH Securities (IH) says the consumer landscape in 2025 looks stronger as the country emerges from setbacks caused by El Niño drought conditions.
In its latest Zimbabwe Consumer Sector Report, IH said while the operating environment continued to face some challenges, there was generally an upward trajectory in volumes for consumer-facing companies.
“This underscores stronger-than-expected aggregate demand, signalling a resilient informal economy. Consumer volumes have remained stable despite the shrinking of the formal sector,” IH said.
It added that the contribution of the largely US dollar-denominated informal sector can also be observed from the dollarisation of sales, with companies such as Delta, Simbisa and Dairibord sustaining a proportion of US dollar sales above 70 percent.
“Another factor that we have seen prop up volumes is the widespread investments into capacity over the last two years, enhancing scale and enabling a better offering to the public with improved efficiency,” reads part of the report.
According to IH, supporting the consumer landscape includes tobacco sales, of which over 300 million kilogrammes of tobacco have so far been sold across the country, fetching over US$1 billion.
On the minerals front, Padenga has reported an effective US$2 860/oz in the first quarter of this year, up 41 percent year on year, and the price boom in gold will also translate to higher earnings for artisanal miners.
“We also believe that consumer demand in the year will be further buoyed by strengthening remittances, which grew 22 percent in 2024 to US$2,2 billion. We believe that all these factors tie up to a recovery in aggregate demand in 2025,” IH said.
