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Business Reporter.
THE Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce says there is a worrying increase in the volume of cheap imported goods which are about to expire that have rendered local goods uncompetitive on the market.ZNCC vice president Mr Davison Norupiri said the goods were being dumped in the country creating an uneven playing field with the local products in terms of price.
“This dumping happens either in the form of importation of goods whose “sell by” date is imminent and thus the shelf life of the goods is about to expire, or the importation of goods at below production cost as the exporters enjoy export rebates in the country of origin,” he said.
“Locally manufactured goods are unable to compete with these ‘dumped’ goods as they will be available at very low prices,” Mr Norupiri said.
He also said a further consequence of this practice is the widening of the country’s trade deficit.
“The Government should capacitate the Ministry of Health’s Department of Port Health to minimise substandard or expired products.
“We recommend policies which allow goods which cannot be manufactured by local companies to be imported,” he said.
He also said the food inspection regulations introduced by the Ministry of Health, which require importers of foodstuffs and raw materials used in foodstuffs to foot the bill of inspection by our local health inspectors in the country of origin, also impose an additional cost on the cost of production, thus negatively affecting the competitiveness of the local industry.
Mr Norupiri added that as a country, Zimbabwe did not allow the production of genetically modified crops, authorities allowed the importation of finished food products which are made from GMO crops.
“These tend to be cheaper than locally manufactured foodstuffs as the yield per tonne of GMO crops is substantially higher than the yield on GMO-free crops. This creates an uneven playing field and has immensely affected the viability and competitiveness of our local industry,” he said.
The country has for the past decade been hit by rampant smuggling of finished goods at border posts and the problem has now reached crisis proportions.
“A lot of smuggling of finished goods is happening at our border posts and such smuggling appears to be at a commercial level.
‘‘Such products tend to be found on the markets at a cheaper price than our own equivalent manufactured goods, thus negatively affecting our productive industries,” Mr Norupiri said.
Last month at a strategic appraisal workshop in Harare Mr Norupiri said the Government called for the liberalisation of duty imposed on imported raw materials.
“The Government should work on the review of duty laws on imported raw materials because the duty is affecting production in our companies thereby derailing growth,” he said.
Online Reporter