Govt urged to review duty-free import policy

policy saying it was hurting agricultural productivity and the manufacturing industry.
Minister Nguni said Government should consider adopting the window period option in which no imports of agricultural products were allowed within a certain range of time to give local producers a chance to sell their products with fair competition first.
“These duty-free imports of agricultural and even finished products are causing lots of price distortions on the local market, leaving farmers stranded with their produce as they cannot compete with the cheaper imports.
“It is necessary for Government to draft policies that promote viable marketing of local products without subjecting them to unfair competition from cheaply produced ones from outside,” he said. Minister Nguni made the remarks in an interview on the sidelines of a prize giving day for farmers held at Juru Growth Point last Friday.
Also commenting on the same matter, Goromonzi North legislator, Cde Paddy Zhanda, said the country had been reduced to a consumptive market of foreign products, something that was killing local industry.
“Take a simple example of the price of a tonne of maize. We are selling it at US$285 while it is taking US$220 to land a tonne of maize from South Africa. Millers and other grain consumers are therefore going for the cheaper imported products leaving the locally produced ones despite their high quality,” he said.
Cde Zhanda said Botswana had a window period during, which it closed its doors to imports to promote the marketing of their local products. Zimbabwe should also emulate this example if the economy was to rise again, he added. He said imports should be allowed briefly and only to fill the gaps left by local products and not have them going on throughout the year as was happening at the moment.
“We need a regulatory authority that will help in the setting of fair prices for agricultural products. It is government’s responsibility to incentivise farmers so that they remain in business and contribute effectively to the Gross Domestic Product,” said Cde Zhanda.