Online Reporter
Lloyd Makonya
Correspondent
DEMAND for Zimbabwean agricultural products remains robust and largely unmet in Mozambique, creating significant opportunities for farmers and agro-processors to expand into this growing market.
Calls for Zimbabwean producers to strategically position themselves to meet this demand are intensifying.
Mozambican supermarkets have expressed keen interest in Zimbabwean manufactured food items such as beverages, bread, dairy products, and cereals. Beyond processed goods, there is also substantial appetite for fresh produce, including potatoes, tomatoes, butternuts, peas, onions, lettuce, cabbages, blueberries, grapes, apples, peppers, carrots, and leafy vegetables.
The opportunities extend further into livestock and animal products, with poultry, beef, and eggs from Zimbabwe widely regarded as superior in quality compared to local alternatives.
Encouragingly, high-level political engagement is reinforcing agricultural cooperation between the two nations.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa has consistently emphasised the importance of strengthening agricultural ties under the framework of the Joint Permanent Commission on Cooperation.
This directive was recently echoed by Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to Mozambique, Dr Victor Matemadanda, during a meeting with Chibabava District Administrator, Mr Sérgio Arnaldo Gove in Sofala Province.
“President Mnangagwa has instructed us to facilitate engagement between Zimbabwean and Mozambican farmers to encourage knowledge transfer and capacity building to ensure food security for both countries,” said Ambassador Matemadanda.
ZimTrade has over the years been facilitating outward trade and seller missions to Beira, Chimoio and Tete in Mozambique which saw Zimbabwean companies engaging with their Mozambican counterparts in trade and investment discussions.
Zimbabwean companies also had the opportunity to tour Mozambican companies to have an appreciation of their operations, and also see which areas they can tap into to enhance cooperation.
Despite proximity and strong demand, procedural bottlenecks continue to hinder growth.
Chief among these is the requirement for a Phytosanitary Certificate for plant-based exports.
Issued by Plant Quarantine Services under the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, the certificate confirms that shipments are free from pests and diseases, and requires physical inspection of production sites.
Limited inspection capacity often results in delays, particularly problematic for perishable commodities where timing determines profitability.
The growing demand for Zimbabwean products comes at a time when available trade data for 2024 reveals both a widening trade imbalance and significant untapped export potential.
Mozambique remains Zimbabwe’s fourth largest trading partner globally, underscoring the strategic importance of the bilateral relationship.
However, statistics drawn from UN Comtrade data for 2024, with 2025 figures still being compiled, show that while total trade between the two countries continues to grow, Zimbabwe’s export performance has weakened over the past five years.
Zimbabwe’s exports to Mozambique declined from US$326 million in 2020 to US$245 million in 2024.
In contrast, imports from Mozambique rose sharply from US$143 million in 2020 to US$404 million in 2024. This shift has fundamentally altered the trade balance.
In 2020, Zimbabwe enjoyed a trade surplus of US$183 million. That surplus steadily narrowed to US$116 million in 2021 and US$38 million in 2022 before flipping into a deficit of US$55 million in 2023.
By 2024, the trade deficit had widened significantly to US$159 million. Notably, total trade volumes increased from US$469 million in 2020 to US$657 million in 2024, indicating expanding commercial activity but an increasingly uneven distribution of value.
In 2024, Zimbabwe’s principal exports to Mozambique were chromium ore valued at US$89 million, raw sugar at US$30 million and processed tobacco at US$26 million.
Mozambique’s exports to Zimbabwe, however, were dominated by refined petroleum worth US$104 million, soybean oil at US$86 million and electricity at US$75 million.
The data highlights Zimbabwe’s growing dependence on Mozambican energy and fuel products, while its own exports remain concentrated in minerals and a narrow range of primary commodities.
It is within this context that Zimbabwe’s Consul General to Mozambique, Mr Malvern Bere, has urged farmers to actively pursue opportunities in Mozambique’s agricultural and retail markets.
He noted that demand for Zimbabwean produce remains strong and largely unmet.
“There is a huge market for Zimbabwean produce in Mozambique.
“Last year, we received a request through the Consulate for the supply of 90 tonnes of cabbages by hoteliers in Mozambique. We engaged ZimTrade, but we could not satisfy the market,” said Mr Bere.
That unsatisfied order is emblematic of a broader structural gap between market demand and export readiness.
Mr Bere also pointed to bureaucratic inefficiencies at border posts as a discouraging factor, particularly for small-scale farmers.
“We need to cut bureaucracies at our border posts which can demotivate farmers, especially small-scale farmers, who end up using informal routes to bring products into Mozambique,” he said.
To address post-harvest losses and improve reliability of supply, engagements are underway between the Government of Zimbabwe and Mozambican authorities to establish a centrally located cold storage facility in Mozambique.
The proposed cold room will allow Zimbabwean farmers to aggregate and store fresh produce at a strategic distribution point, ensuring consistent supply to Mozambican supermarkets, hotels and bulk buyers.
Such infrastructure will significantly reduce spoilage, improve logistical coordination and strengthen Zimbabwe’s ability to fulfil large-volume contracts that currently go unmet.
The widening trade deficit reflected in the 2024 data sends a clear signal.
While Zimbabwe will continue to rely on Mozambique for energy imports in the short to medium term, there is urgent need to diversify and scale up exports, particularly in agriculture and value-added food products.
Mozambique’s growing urban centres, hospitality industry and retail chains present an accessible and expanding market, especially for farmers in Manicaland and other border provinces.
With total trade rising but export competitiveness declining, the imperative for Zimbabwean producers is to move beyond subsistence production and align output with structured regional demand.
The numbers from 2024 are instructive. The market exists, the demand is documented and political will is evident. The opportunity for Zimbabwean farmers lies not across oceans, but across the border.
