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Sifelani Tsiko
Agric, Environment & Innovations Editor
Trade between Zimbabwe and United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been growing over the past five years, with local businesses exporting nearly US$1 billion worth of goods and service in 2019, up from US$148 million in 2015. This represents an increase of over 460 percent. Recently, the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry in conjunction with DP World, Dubai Exports and DEAT Capital — a Zimbabwean financial advisory firm hosted a virtual forum to examine existing trade synergies between the UAE and Zimbabwe and explore potential opportunities in the agri-business sector. In this report, our Agric, Environment & Innovations Editor Sifelani Tsiko (ST) speaks to DEAT Capital managing director Nicky Moyo (NM) about the brightening trade prospects between the two countries.
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ST: What was the major aim of this virtual forum?
NM: This private sector platform was put together in sync with support to achieve Vision 2030 of our government as enunciated by our President Mnangagwa. Recently, the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry in conjunction with DP World, Dubai Exports and DEAT Capital — a Zimbabwean financial advisory firm hosted a virtual forum to examine existing trade synergies between the UAE and Zimbabwe and explore potential opportunities in the agri-business sector. This is in support of the Zimbabwe is open for business policy and fundamentally flows from expanding Zimbabwe-UAE bilateral relationships. Additionally, Zimbabwe is participating in the Dubai 2020 Expo the world’s largest trade fair set for Dubai in October 2021 to May 2022. This is an opportune time to drive that interest for the Zimbabwe private sector.
ST: How many participants were there? How many countries were they drawn from?
NM: The virtual forum attracted a record registration of around 1 560 participants from more than 30 countries that include the UAE, Turkey, Netherlands, Nigeria, Tunisia, Kenya, United Kingdom, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Saudi Arabia, India, Zambia, Ivory Coast, Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, United States, Canada, Egypt and Singapore. All this demonstrates the global interest in this initiative.
ST: The representatives were from which major key sectors?
NM: We had participation from a number of major sectors that cover shipping, agricultural producers and processors, financial institutions, agribusiness technology, logistics providers and terminal operators, investors and financiers, insurance, export credit insurance, industrial parks and Special Economic Zones and trade technology providers.
ST: What was the major outcome of this virtual meeting?
NM: It must be noted this innovative ground breaking webinar builds on DEAT Capital’s previous experiences in the last decade of facilitating business roadshows to the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai, Switzerland and South Africa. As you noted for the UAE-Zimbabwe Food and Agribusiness Virtual Forum, DEAT Capital brought in proven UAE partners such as Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Commerce, DP World UAE, Dubai Exports.
These partners bring strong capabilities of connecting Zimbabwean businesses to the world utilising Dubai as the enabler. The consensus was that Zimbabwe can be a strategic partner for the UAE utilising Dubai as a food and agribusiness hub.
With our UAE partners, we are working on developing a robust single one-stop shop ecosystem that connects logistics, traders, financiers and producers of agriculture commodities as part of long term targeted investments that will support expansion of the UAE-Zimbabwe trade volumes.
Robust timelines, actionable activities and deliverables are being worked out. We are appreciative of the guidance support of our Zimbabwe government focal point, the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Resettlement.
ST: Dr Anxious Masuka, Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Resettlement delivered a keynote address to the forum. What was his main message? Could you also shed light on the action plan which was agreed upon to enhance cooperation and boost trade ties between Zimbabwe and Dubai.
NM: Dr Masuka spoke about the August 2020 launch of the Agriculture Systems and Transformation Strategy with a vision to build a US$8,2 billion agriculture economy in our country by 2025. Anchored into this strategy, he said, it sought to support investment and exports in a number of agricultural commodities and growth in exports.
Dr Masuka said the UAE and the Middle East present a global opportunity for our various Zimbabwean agribusiness stakeholders to develop strategic alliances in food and agribusiness trade and investment. Within that strategy gender equality and the empowerment of rural women are important building blocks towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, he further noted.
He also pointed out that the new land policy will harmonise existing statutory and customary laws, policies and institutional mandates between mining and agriculture, enhance the commercial value of land, and ensure access to land for all, including youths and women and secure land rights and other tenure systems to guarantee secure investments on the farms. In August 2020, Dr Masuka said, there was a signing of the US$3,5 billion Global Compensation Deed (CGD) between the Government of Zimbabwe and the former farmers that has brought closure to a long drawn process that had bedevilled policy planning and implementation for the country.
ST: What is driving interest among Zimbabwean companies to seek business opportunities in Dubai?
NM: The UAE offers many advantages for Zimbabwe. For example, Zimbabwe companies including SMEs and Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) companies looking to expand their business outside Zimbabwe can do so through DP World. The UAE is a unique enabler of the UAE-Africa bridge that utilise a range of strategic solutions, including plug-and-play platforms, end-to-end supply chain solutions, value-added services, and an investment platform. The DP World UAE flagship platform — Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza) is one of the world’s leading free trade zones.
A DP World-owned company, the free zone was created in 1985 to promote trade and support container throughput at the Jebel Ali Port. Today it is one of the largest free zones globally and the region’s most efficient logistics hub. Located in Dubai, between Jebel Ali Port, and Al Maktoum International Airport, Jafza provides the best in multi-modal connectivity.
All this offers Zimbabwean businesses and entrepreneurs an opportunity to utilise Dubai as a destination to do business.
ST: The Emirate’s non-oil trade with Zimbabwe has increased from US$490 million in 2011 to reach US$939 million in 2019. Is there scope to expand bilateral trade and investment to breeze past the US$1 billion mark?
NM: With a focused vision of public-private partnerships between Zimbabwe private sector and government such goals are attainable of at least doubling trade in short to medium term. For example, bilateral trade between India and the UAE surpassed US$60 billion in 2019 and is poised to grow exponentially.
The economic relationship between the countries has strengthened. India is now the second-largest trading partner of the UAE behind China. In support of this activity, Jebel Ali Port and Jafza provide a multimodal trade, logistics, and industrial hub that further enhance the facility’s role as India’s gateway to the world by facilitating trade and opening new markets for the two Asian giants.
This access sustains Dubai’s position as the largest re-export centre for products, catering to a vast import-dependent region from the GCC to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), East Africa and Sub-continent markets. Zimbabwe should therefore leverage such capabilities.
ST: Could you also briefly tell us about what DEAT Capital is doing to support local entities to exploit business opportunities in Dubai.
NM: With our UAE partners we are working on developing a robust single one-stop shop ecosystem that connects logistics, traders, financiers, agriculture technology companies, development finance institution producers of agriculture commodities through long term targeted investments that will support expansion of the UAE-Zimbabwe trade. One of the key opportunities is for Zimbabwe’s private sector to work closely with the Commissioner General’s Dubai 2020 Expo Secretariat in the Office of President and Cabinet led by Ambassador Mary Mubi. We encourage the private sector to engage this office for mutual benefits with the Dubai platform. The Dubai 2020 Expo will offer a sustained interface of aspiring Zimbabwe businesses. There are many opportunities to flow from this relationship.
ST: Looking ahead, what are the prospects like of the Zimbabwe–Dubai trade, both in the short term and in the medium to long term?
NM: In the medium term, we believe the food and agribusiness sector which is the pivot of Zimbabwe’s economy can gain very much utilising UAE as the hub.
The Jebel Ali hub is the preferred commercial gateway to a region of 3,5 billion people. This access sustains Dubai’s position as the largest re-export centre for food products, catering to a vast import-dependent region from the GCC to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), East Africa and sub-continent markets.
Complementing the port facility is Jafza’s dedicated food and beverage cluster, spreading over 1,2 million square metres, and including 467 businesses from 66 countries, employing more than 5 880 people. Jafza also offers industry-specific value-added services, including packaging, storage, bagging and sorting, stuffing, palletizing and transportation.
The free zone also provides bonded and non-bonded zones supporting farm-to-shelf supply chain activities, common user facilities for tea and coffee trading and processing as well as sugar, grains, pulses, meat, edible oil, seeds, and other ready-to-consume food items. It is also home to the world’s largest port-based sugar refinery.
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