Online Reporter
Golden Sibanda in MAPUTO, Mozambique
THERE has been strong interest in banana chips exhibited by Valley Shark at the ongoing Maputo International Trade Fair (FACIM) 2026, which could see Manicaland farmers breaking ground in the Mozambican export market, a senior official said.
Mozambican President, Daniel Chapo, officially opened the fair, which runs from August 31, 2026 to September 7, 2026, promising to press ahead with reforms to eliminate complications and improve the business environment in the country.
He argued that only by increasing domestic production and reducing imports will the foreign exchange problem be resolved.
Zimbabwean companies at FACIM 2026 are showcasing products across manufactured goods, processed foods, agricultural commodities, building materials, transport and logistics, engineering solutions and arts and crafts, among others.
Valley Sharks, one of twenty Zimbabwean companies exhibiting at the 61st edition of FACIM, under the ZimTrade pavilion, is a Manicaland banana farmers’ union formed in 2023 to address the problem of post-harvest losses and other market constraints.
The farmers’ union, which started production in August this year, represents about 3 000 small-scale banana farmers. In Zimbabwe, Valley Sharks has already secured distributorship arrangements with major dealers like Mega Markets and Silo, a subsidiary of the Grain Marketing Board.
Valley Sharks was established with funding and technical support from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO), respectively.
Its manufacturing plant in Honde Valley, Manicaland Province, has processing capacity for 8 tonnes per day in peak periods.
Speaking in an interview at FACIM, the ministry’s Manicaland provincial development officer, Mr Gabriel Jaji, said there had been strong interest in the banana chips at FACIM 2026, with many potential buyers saying that the banana chips were very different from the potato chips they are used to.
“We are here exhibiting on behalf of Valley Sharks, which is an agricultural union that was established by the ministry in partnership with the African Development Bank and with technical support from the International Labour Organisation.
“The enterprise (Valley Sharks) is into the value addition of bananas, so we are producing banana crisps. We are here to look for external markets.
“We understand that in Zimbabwe we have already secured some markets, but we are here on an outward mission whereby we want to export the banana crisps to Mozambique.
“There is high demand for the banana crisps and there are a lot of distributors.
“We have shown interest in partnering with us and moving our product to Mozambique. There is a lot of appetite in the test banks for banana crisps. It’s new to this country.”
Mr Jaji said there is high demand for the banana crisps from high-end retail shoppers who love them
“Overall, the Ministry of Women is also here to support our SMEs. We have been supporting our SMEs to gain exposure to international markets.
“We are proud to report that we have managed to secure some markets and it is also going to promote the competitiveness of our (domestic) industry, knowing that the SMEs in Zimbabwe are contributing more than 60 percent of our national GDP and more than 80 percent of national employment.
“Therefore, we need to start to be export-oriented and start to explore international markets so that we bring Zimbabwean products to the international markets, especially those which are being produced by the SMEs, so that we also hand-hold our SMEs so that they are not afraid to explore the international markets.”
ZimTrade has been facilitating the participation of Zimbabwean companies at FACIM as part of the national push to expand exports and strengthen regional trade ties in a rapidly growing market.
The initiative supports Zimbabwe’s export-led growth strategy and economic diplomacy agenda.
The participation also follows commitments from the Zimbabwe-Mozambique Bi-National Commission to improve trade routes and cross-border partnerships.
Zimbabwe’s exports to Mozambique rose 4 percent from US$255,1 million in 2024 to US$266,2 million in the previous year, backed by the ZimTrade national export drive.
