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Chrispen Gumunyu, Business Reporter
TRADE development and promotion body, ZimTrade has called on the agricultural sector to target large-scale exports to neighbouring markets to boost sales volumes and generation of foreign currency.
Speaking at the Buy Zimbabwe Summit in Bulawayo recently, ZimTrade chief executive Mr Allan Majuru said countries in the region are net exporters of horticulture products which is a gap that local farmers should exploit. The Buy Zimbabwe Campaign is intended to reveal the country’s full potential while encouraging economic growth and competitiveness of home-grown brands.
“Horticulture is a very good product to export to countries such as Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Mozambique and Zambia and the good thing about exporting in the region is that the standards are not as stiff as they are when you are exporting to Europe. Local farmers are already exporting to these countries so we need to have a mechanism to operate at a large scale because most of those countries are net exporters of fresh produce and in Zimbabwe we have the land and human capital so what we need to work on are the logistics,” said Mr Majuru.
He said ZimTrade in partnership with a Dutch-based company is set to work with irrigation schemes in Matabeleland which will export fresh produce to neighbouring countries.
“Together with PUM, a Netherlands-based organisation of senior expert consultants, which has been sending expert missions to assist local horticultural farmers, we have set up farms in Mashonaland East, Mashonaland West and in the Midlands but soon we will be coming to Matabeleland. We will work with irrigation schemes to revive export markets to Botswana and Zambia. South Africa is the biggest horticulture exporter in the region and they pass through Harare on their way to Lusaka in Zambia yet we are there but we are not exploiting the market,” he said.
Mr Majuru said some local companies have benefited from PUM expert missions and this has resulted in reduced cost of doing business.
“This is a practical initiative and companies have managed to reduce their cost of doing business by 10 to 20 percent due to implementation of the consultants’ suggestions. The experts can link companies with markets in Europe if they are satisfied with the quality so we are inviting them to come and work with local producers to help them attain the quality which the experts require,” said Mr Majuru.
Zimbabwe’s horticulture exports include bambara beans, shelled macadamia nuts, seed potatoes, kale, blueberries and seeds of cowpeas which were not being exported until recently.
An increase has also been noted in products such as mushrooms, mange tout peas, green tea, carrots, beetroot, dried mixed vegetables, chillies and peaches which the country has been exporting for some time.
Online Reporter