daniel chigunwe
Business Reporter
The manufacturing sector is staking its claim as one of the biggest contributors to the country’s Gross Domestic Product, latest figures from the Zimbabwe National Statistical Agency (Zimstat) have shown.
While the manufacturing sector’s contribution to GDP in 2020 is second at 18,43 percent, its contribution is immense given that the biggest contributor with 19,24 percent (18,98 percent in 2019) is made up of various sectors including wholesale and retail trade as well as repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles.
The 18,43 percent manufacturing sector’s contribution to GDP is a 17 percentage point increase from a contribution of 15,74 percent in 2019.
By value, the manufacturing sector contributed $213 billion to the country’s 2020 GDP of $1,15 trillion (at market prices).
The country’s key sectors, that of agriculture and that of mining and quarrying however struggled with their GDP contributions falling from 10,14 percent and 12,25 percent to close at 7,61 and 10,50 percent respectively.
The increased contribution to GDP by the manufacturing sector is in line with the growth in capacity utilisation recorded in 2020.
According to industry lobby board Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) the sector’s capacity utilisation in 2020 came in at 47 percent from 36,4 percent in 2019.
Bongani Ndlovu