Online Reporter
Trade Focus-Allan Majuru
Zimbabwe’s export sector is beginning 2026 on a stronger footing, supported by sustained policy focus, improving production conditions and a deliberate effort by the Government to align trade, diplomacy and industrial development.
Recent performance indicates that exports are playing an increasingly important role in supporting economic activity and strengthening the country’s external position.
This direction is the result of deliberate policy choices under President Mnangagwa’s administration, where exports have been positioned as a central pillar of economic recovery, with emphasis placed on value addition, market access and competitiveness.
The approach by the Second Republic reflects an understanding that durable growth will be anchored in the country’s capacity to produce for external markets, generate foreign currency and progressively narrow the import-export gap.
A key component of this strategy has been the integration of economic objectives into foreign policy.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade has continued to recalibrate Zimbabwe’s diplomatic engagements to prioritise trade outcomes, with embassies now expected to play a practical role in export development.
Beyond political representation, diplomatic missions are being tasked with identifying buyers, facilitating business linkages and supporting access to production inputs, equipment and technology from host markets.
This shift signals a move towards more coordinated trade facilitation, where diplomacy supports production and production feeds into export growth.
For exporters, particularly those seeking to enter new markets, this approach reduces information asymmetries and shortens pathways to market entry.
The external orientation is being reinforced by developments at home.
Expectations of a good agricultural season, relative macroeconomic stability and ongoing ease of doing business reforms are improving planning certainty for local businesses.
These conditions are particularly relevant for manufacturing and agro-processing, sectors that sit at the centre of value addition and export growth.
As reforms continue to address regulatory efficiency and transaction costs, firms are better positioned to plan for scale and market expansion.
Recent trade data provides context for this outlook.
According to the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStat), cumulative export earnings for January to November 2025 reached US$8,57 billion, representing a 27 percent increase from US$6,74 billion recorded over the same period in 2024. Improved export performance contributed to a significant narrowing of the trade deficit, which declined by 69 percent from US$2,1 billion in 2024 to US$644 million in the period under review.
October 2025 marked a notable milestone, with exports reaching US$1 billion in a single month.
These figures point to growing traction in export performance and provide a platform on which planning for 2026 is proceeding, with attention shifting from recovery towards consolidation, diversification and wider participation across the economy. ZimTrade’s role within this framework continues to evolve.
As the national trade development and promotion organisation, it is strengthening its capacity to respond to changes in global trade, including shifting demand patterns, evolving regulatory standards and competitive pressures.
The focus is on ensuring that exporters are supported to access markets and to remain competitive and compliant within them.
Export development anchored in inclusion and value addition
Export development efforts in 2026 are placing increasing emphasis on broadening participation across the economy, ensuring that export growth supports inclusive development. Particular attention is being directed towards integrating rural producers, youth-owned enterprises and women-led businesses into export value chains.
Export clusters remain a key instrument in this process and organising producers around specific products and markets helps address challenges related to scale, quality consistency and coordination.
In rural areas, the cluster model is linking producers to formal markets while supporting income generation and local economic activity.
Over time, this approach also contributes to building production capacity and export readiness at community level.
Alongside clustering, there is continued focus on product development.
New export products are being identified and developed, while existing products are being improved to meet market requirements.
Heritage-based products are part of this approach, drawing on Zimbabwe’s natural resources, cultural assets and traditional knowledge, while aligning them with modern packaging, branding and quality standards demanded by international markets.
Support to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) remains central to export development.
Programmes such as the ZimTrade-run Next She Exporter and Eagles Nest have demonstrated that SMEs can access regional and international markets when provided with targeted technical assistance, market exposure and compliance support.
Building on the outcomes recorded in previous editions, these initiatives continue to play a role in preparing SMEs for export participation in 2026.
The emphasis on small businesses reflects lessons drawn from international experience.
Economies such as Singapore and Malaysia have built strong export sectors by integrating small manufacturers and specialised producers into global value chains.
Their experience shows that export competitiveness is driven by efficiency, quality and market alignment, rather than scale alone.
In addition, export development efforts will place increased emphasis on the manufacturing sector, recognising its central role in driving value addition, industrialisation and sustainable export growth.
Targeted and deepened interventions will be implemented to ensure optimum results from industry, and support will be intensified to manufacturers to enhance product quality and consistency, ensuring alignment with regional and international market standards.
This will be complemented by deliberate efforts to link manufacturers with buyers across key markets, while equally strengthening linkages with suppliers of inputs, technology providers and logistics partners to improve reliability and scale.
Further to this, ZimTrade will work closely with established top-tier businesses to ensure that its programmes and interventions respond directly to their needs.
This engagement will also include facilitating dialogue around ease of doing business issues with a view to addressing practical constraints that affect production, competitiveness and export growth.
To ensure a coordinated and collective approach, efforts will also be targeted at strengthening collaboration with business member organisations and relevant Government institutions.
Through structured engagement and alignment, these partnerships will aim to ensure that policy, support services and trade facilitation measures are responsive to the needs and expectations of industry, ultimately strengthening the overall export ecosystem.
Platforms for engagement and coordination remain important.
The Annual Exporters Conference and Exporter of the Year Awards, scheduled for February 20 in Bulawayo, continue to provide a structured forum for dialogue between policymakers, exporters and support institutions.
Beyond recognising performance, the conference creates space for discussion on policy, logistics, financing, market access and competitiveness, with outcomes that inform ongoing export development efforts.
Quality assurance is another area of focus. Access to international markets increasingly depends on compliance with standards related to quality, safety and traceability.
In response, ZimTrade is working with local and international partners to strengthen quality infrastructure within Zimbabwe.
One of the initiatives underway is the establishment of quality assurance laboratories, beginning with a facility that will provide international certification for locally produced honey, expected to be operational in the second half of 2026.
Local testing and certification are expected to reduce costs for exporters, shorten turnaround times and improve responsiveness to buyer requirements, while also building domestic technical capacity.
Market development through targeted engagement
Market development remains a core pillar of Zimbabwe’s export strategy in 2026, with efforts directed at consolidating existing markets while opening new ones.
ZimTrade is implementing targeted export promotion activities designed to improve market access, strengthen buyer relationships and enhance product visibility. A key feature of this approach is in-market export development.
One of the initiatives at an advanced stage is the establishment of a warehouse facility in Zambia, intended to stock Zimbabwean products and ease entry into the Zambian market.
The facility will also serve as a gateway into the Democratic Republic of Congo, providing exporters with a practical distribution platform closer to buyers.
Plans are in place to replicate this model in other markets, including Mozambique, Namibia and Tanzania.
These initiatives are supported by a structured calendar of export promotion activities across Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Planned engagements include participation in major international trade fairs, outward and inward trade missions, market scans and sector-specific business forums.
Key platforms include Fruit Logistica in Germany; the China International Import Expo; business forums in Saudi Arabia, Uganda and Rwanda; and outward missions to Mozambique and Zambia.
These engagements are intended to deepen market intelligence, facilitate buyer engagement and support market entry for Zimbabwean firms.
Market prioritisation continues to reflect trade performance.
Dubai has emerged as Zimbabwe’s leading export destination, reflecting its role as a global trading hub and re-export centre.
Other key markets include China, South Africa, Mozambique and Europe, each of which remains central to Zimbabwe’s export profile and market development strategy.
Allan Majuru is the chief executive officer of ZimTrade.
