Online Reporter
Martin Kadzere
Zimbabwe must reduce production costs to avoid turning its economy into a “supermarket” for regional producers under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), an industry captain has warned.
Speaking at the Mid-Term Economic Review and High-Level Policy Dialogue hosted by Africa Economic Development Strategies in Harare last week, Mr Temba Mustvairo, chairman of the Zimbabwe Dairy Industry Trust, expressed deep anxiety regarding the local dairy sector’s readiness for continental competition.
Mr Mustvairo pointed out that Zimbabwe’s domestic dairy value chain was heavily weighed down by structural inefficiencies, leaving local processors uncompetitive against regional peers.
“In the dairy sector, I don’t think we are as yet ready for that,” Mr Mustvairo cautioned delegates.
“Our cost of production is too high compared to the regional parity.”
He highlighted that processors were currently forced to buy raw milk from local farmers at a steep 63 cents per litre—a price heavily inflated by local cost factors—making the final product on supermarket shelves significantly more expensive than milk across Zimbabwe’s borders.
“If the borders are open before we address the local cost of production, we run the risk of affecting the whole dairy value chain,” Mr Mustvairo added, warning that local processors would be unable to compete against an influx of cheaper imports flooding domestic supermarkets.
He called on policymakers to center future strategies around reducing the unit cost of production to stimulate exports and safeguard local viability.
