Online Reporter
Edgar Vhera
Specialist Writer – Agribusiness
ZIMBABWE’S exports shot 42 percent to US$4,5 billion from January to May this year against US$3,1 billion in the comparable period last year.
According to recently released statistics from the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStats), the country earned US$4,451 billion from all its worldwide exports from January to May 2026.
Semi-manufactured gold (including gold plated with platinum), non-monetary, was the top earner with US$2,2 billion, followed by partly or wholly stemmed/stripped tobacco on US$605 million and nickel mattes at US$595 million.
Other mineral substances and ferro-chromium (containing over four percent carbon by weight) complete the top five spots with US$154 million and US$121 million, respectively.
The top five export commodities raked in US$3, 7 billion and accounted for 83 percent of total national exports.
Semi-manufactured gold made up 50 percent of all exports, with tobacco and nickel mattes at 14 and 13 percent, respectively.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) was the country’s top export destination at US$2 billion, with South Africa second at US$1 billion and China third at US$670 million.
The top three countries contributed 83 percent of the country’s exports (US$3, 7 billion).
This development comes on the backdrop of the Government’s pledge to transform the mining sector from a predominantly raw mineral exporter into a globally competitive producer of value-added mineral products under the National Development Strategy 2 (NDS 2), as it sets its sights on achieving Vision 2030.
Speaking at the recently held Zimbabwe-China Investment Symposium in Harare, running under the theme “Strengthening Relations to Unlock Zimbabwe’s Potential,” Mines and Mining Development Minister Dr Polite Kambamura said mining would remain at the centre of the country’s economic transformation, with emphasis shifting towards beneficiation, technology adoption and strategic international partnerships.
“Our objective is not simply to produce more minerals but to transform Zimbabwe from being a supplier of predominantly raw mineral commodities into a globally competitive producer of high-value mineral products and mineral-based industries,” he said.
Dr Kambamura said beneficiation remained central to Government policy, noting that exporting raw minerals deprived the country of employment opportunities, industrial capacity and higher export earnings.
He cited the recent production of Africa’s first shipment of lithium sulphate from Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt’s Arcadia Mine as evidence that Zimbabwe was making progress towards local mineral processing and value addition.
The Government also crafted the Tobacco Value Chain Transformation Strategy 2 (TVCTS 2), whose focus is to increase tobacco value addition to 30 percent from the current 11 percent.
Zimbabwe grows some of the best tobacco in the world, which is mostly exported as raw tobacco, accounting for 92 percent of the earnings, with cigarettes accounting for seven percent.
While Zimbabwe’s average tobacco price is around US$5, 75 per kilogramme (US$0, 06 per gramme), premium cigars such as Cohiba Behike get a high price of US$100 or more per 10- to 15-gramme stick.
So, while Zimbabwe is getting about US$0.06 per gramme, it could get a high price of US$10 for a premium cigar on the same gramme.
The National Trade Development and Promotion Organisation of Zimbabwe (ZimTrade) chief executive, Mr Allan Majuru, said value-added exports increased by 26 percent from US$198 million during January-May 2025 to US$250 million during the same period this year.
Mr Majuru said the growth of value-added products was a strong indicator that Zimbabwean manufacturers are beginning to respond to opportunities created through market access initiatives, investment in productive capacity and growing acceptance of local products abroad.
“Chemicals recorded the highest percentage growth among the key value-added sectors, rising by 557 percent from US$2,4 million to US$15,6 million, largely driven by sulphates and alums.
“Engineering products increased 147 percent from US$39,3 million to US$96,8 million, an important development because engineering products are associated with industrial capability and deeper value chains,” he said.
Mr Majuru said minerals and alloys remained the largest export category, rising by 42 percent from US$2,51 billion to US$3,56 billion in the review period.
