Chronicle Editor
Business Writer
THE Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI), says the 2023 manufacturing sector survey report is expected to be released later this month.
CZI, the country’s largest manufacturing sector lobby group and the industrial representative body, conducts an annual survey that provides detailed insight into the performance of the manufacturing sector.
This is because the manufacturing industry is at the heart of the industrialisation agenda.
“We are actually doing the survey, our expectation was before the end of this month and we will communicate on the date it will be released.
“But we are actually doing the survey right now. We are collecting the information,” said CZI president, Mr Kurai Matsheza.
The annual manufacturing sector survey is not limited to CZI members, as it seeks to capture performance of the industry across the country.
The survey covers about 10 industrial sectors including food stuffs, beverages, tobacco, clothing, footwear, furniture, paper (printing) chemicals, non-metallic minerals, transport and equipment.
Capacity utilisation is a key statistic derived from the survey, as it details a company’s and the country’s industrial performance.
In recent years, the local manufacturing sector was subjected to the influx of cheap imported products, rendering the local players uncompetitive while also capacity utilisation declined to an average of 10 percent in 2008.
However, due to a number of policies, the Government and the private sector have collaborated on, capacity utilisation in the manufacturing sector is expected to improve this year, to over 60 percent.
The projection is also on the back of massive retooling and fresh investments in machinery by the private sector.
In the past four years, the manufacturing sector has been registering steady gains in volumes and production capacity.
The trend has also resulted in an increase in the availability of locally produced goods in supermarkets shelves.
In 2022, Zimbabwe’s industrial capacity utilisation stood at 56,1 percent. — Business Weekly
Bongani Ndlovu
Online Reporter