ZIMBABWE’S trade facilitation body, ZimTrade has called on local companies to consider growing exports to Tanzania’s pharmaceuticals, construction and leather products sectors to improve the country’s trade position and ease the cash crisis.
BY MTHANDAZO NYONI
ZimTrade official, Allan Majuru, on Friday told delegates attending the launch of the Tanzanian market survey findings that while Zimbabwe has a negative trade balance with its Southern African peer, opportunities were abound to grow exports.
Official figures show that Tanzania’s import bill for 2015 stood at $9,7 billion, with China being the largest supplier, contributing 44%. Regionally, South Africa has a 5,6% share, while Zimbabwe contributes less than 1%. In 2015, 79% of Zimbabwe’s exports to Tanzania were construction and mining equipment, with the remaining 21% being mainly clothing and textiles, paper and printing services, as well as tobacco.
Majuru said it was important that local suppliers take advantage of this sustained boom and establish Tanzania as a key export market.
“The current cash crisis that is affecting both business and ordinary citizens is a call for action. To alleviate this crisis, there is need for a fresh injection of foreign currency in the form of export revenue,” he said. The survey, conducted in April this year, generated specific information, as well as gathered other market-related intelligence, which will enhance the prospects of market penetration for Zimbabwean products.
Presenting survey results, Africa Corporate Advisors director, Malvern Rusike said, market opportunities for local products and services in sectors such as pharmaceuticals, agricultural implements and inputs, irrigation development, construction and engineering services, safari clothing, leather and footwear were identified in Tanzania.
“Zimbabwe and Tanzania enjoy cordial relations that have been cemented by our common history and membership of Sadc. It is important to strengthen these relations through business partnerships,” he said.
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“Tanzania is an emerging economy, whose significance in the region is growing. It will not be amiss if we are to describe the country as ‘a land of endless opportunities’.”
Rusike said for the past 10 years, Tanzania’s economic growth has averaged 6,7% per annum, enabling it to move from being an $18 billion to a $50 billion economy within this period. This growth, he said, is expected to accelerate, as the country is now tapping into its recently discovered natural gas reserves.
The country’s mining industry has been growing and the agricultural sector is emerging into a regional bread basket, he said.
To access the Tanzanian market, Rusike said exporters could make use of strategies such as distributor agreements, dealer agreements, public-private partnerships, joint ventures, Zimbabweans based in Tanzania, investing in Special Economic zones, as well as trade fairs and exhibitions.
“It is no longer business as usual when developing export markets. There is need to develop unique home-made models,” he said.
