Versapack named Exporter of the Year

Business Reporters
Expanded and extruded polystyrene packaging manufacturer Versapack walked away with the Exporter of the Year award at an awards dinner organised by ZimTrade.The company also received the Best Packaging Exporter of the Year award. Other winners included Rollex (Pvt) Ltd, which claimed the Horticultural Fresh Produce Exporter of the Year and Zimflex (Private) Limited, which took the Floricultural Exporter of the Year award. Tanganda landed the top prize in the processed foods category, while Seed Co claimed the top spot in the agricultural inputs category and Zimplow was the Best Agricultural Implements Exporter of the Year.

Varichem was the winner in the pharmaceutical category while Border Timbers won the award in the building and construction category.  Faithwear Trading was the Most Improved Small and Medium Enterprises Exporter of the Year while Paramount Exports and Bata scooped awards in the clothing sector and leather products and footwear categories respectively.

Speaking at the awards dinner, Industry and Commerce Minister Mike Bimha said it was worrying that the business sector in the country has not been taking advantage of existing relations between Zimbabwe and other continental business bodies. Zimbabwe is signatory to Sadc, Comesa, EU-ESA interim economic partnership and the World Trade Organisation agreements.

“I call upon the business sector to be more aggressive and take advantage of existing bilateral, regional and multilateral trading arrangements which offer duty-free and quota-free market access in order to improve on export performance,” the minister said.

He also said his ministry had resuscitated the trade and economic review committee that will be composed of relevant Government and private stakeholders as the nation heads for trade revival.

“The committee will be responsible for spearheading the implementation, monitoring and review of the national trade policy and advising Government on sustainable trade policy strategies and options,” he said.

Minister Bimha said the Government was currently developing negotiating positions for the country in regional and multilateral trade deals and negotiations.

He added that Government was developing negotiating positions for the country in regional and multilateral trade deals and negotiations.

“This institutional consultative mechanism will enable trade-related issues to be considered and addressed in a coherent framework in order to achieve the objective of increasing export earnings by 10 percent annually to US$7 billion by the end of the implementation period in 2016,” he said.