THE European Union (EU), the United Kingdom (UK) and Kenyan horticulture buyers are seeking to establish long-term trade partnerships with local farmers, following a tour of farms that raised their confidence in Zimbabwe’s produce, NewsDay Farming can reveal.
Last year, Zimbabwe’s horticultural export earnings more than tripled to US$181,7 million, from US$59,8 million in 2024, largely driven by a surge in blueberry exports to EU markets, the country’s main destination for the produce.
The tour consisted of eight buyers who spent the past week touring 11 local farms and food businesses that had prepared their products for export through the International Trade Centre (ITC).
The initiative is funded by the UK government and implemented by the ITC under the UK Trade Partnership Programme (UKTPP).
Since 2019, the programme has supported Zimbabwe’s small and medium-sized enterprises in the horticulture sector to become export-ready and access markets in the UK and EU.
During a tour of a Mvurwi farm, farmerJarmilaSarda, programme manager of the UKTPP Sector and Enterprise Competitiveness Division of Enterprise and Institutions, told NewsDay Farming that local farmers had demonstrated strong export potential.
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“We have been working with the farmers and producers all across Zimbabwe, and we have seen that the facilities are excellent.
“They are fully ready to access the markets; they have the certifications they need, they have the products which are in demand in the European Union and the UK,” she said.
“What they are sometimes missing are those lasting linkages, and that’s why we are here to help them to find these markets.
“We do it either through participation, their participation at the trade shows in the UK and EU, or bringing delegations to countries such as this where we brought eight buyers from the UK and from Germany to visit their farms.”
However, she said financing remained a key challenge for local horticulture farmers.
“And also, they don’t have all the certifications which are required for certain markets, because, again, that’s something that is costly, which requires certain — investment, and they don’t have these linkages, so I think our visit is really timely because we can help them facilitate this,” Sarda said.
Africrops! GmbH managing director and co-founder Heinrich Heinrichs said he believes Zimbabwe and other African countries were well positioned to supply niche organic products to international markets.
“We are looking into niche products from African origin, for example, moringa oleifera and baobab, and we focus on organic production because we believe that organic products will be higher in demand in the future for international markets,” he said.
“As I said, we are focusing right now on moringa oleifera and baobab, typically African, but in the future it will be more.
“And what I see now here with this delegation is that there is a large production that is now readily absorbed on the European market… I believe that Zimbabwe is very well prepared to do so.”
Heinrichs said African countries would increasingly play a critical role in supplying high-quality produce to the Global North.
Africrops! GmbH is a German-based entity that promotes various African plant products through its own brand, The Essence of Africa, as well as in bulk quantities to commercial clients.
California Estate managing director Shaun Philp said his company supplied produce mainly to EU and Asian markets, but welcomed the buyer engagement initiative.
California Estate produces a variety of crops, including blueberries, peppers, peas and maize.
“We grow peas across 70 hectares at California and Forrester Estates, targeting yields of about 12 tonnes annually,” Philp said.
“For peppers, we process them in brine before sending them to Harare, where they are canned for export to Germany and distributed across Europe.”
He agreed that access to affordable finance remained the sector’s biggest challenge.
“The major challenge is cash-flow financing. It is difficult to borrow because we do not hold title deeds to the land.
“When loans are available, interest rates can be as high as 18% to 19%, which makes borrowing very tough.”
Philp added that while offshore loans offered lower interest rates of around 7%, they often tied farmers to specific buyers.
“You can secure offshore finance and supply those lenders with produce, but you are locked into selling through them.
“It helps finance part of the crop, but it limits flexibility.”
Valerie and Tafadzwa Madziva, owners of Eden Chase, said the UK and ITC partnership had opened new export opportunities for their horticultural business.
“We are a farming company that is mainly into horticultural projects for exports. We mainly major in melon farming, peas, and blueberries,” they said.
“We mainly export to the Middle East and Europe, and we just got an opportunity to start exporting into the UK through the help of UKTPP and ITC. It’s been quite beneficial.
“They’ve supported us by linking us to buyers, so it’s just straight to the buyer. And we are privileged to have landed on such an opportunity.”
However, they also echoed concerns over funding constraints.
Following the release of last week’s 2026 Monetary Policy Statement, the Horticulture Development Council (HDC) issued a statement warning that the continued 30% export proceeds surrender policy was hampering the sector and squeezing margins.
“The continued retention of the 30% compulsory liquidation requirement on export proceeds remains a serious concern for the horticulture sector,” HDC said.
“Coming on the back of additional fiscal measures introduced after the 2026 Budget, including higher compliance costs and tax adjustments, the cumulative impact is placing significant pressure on exporter margins.
“These measures reduce working capital, limit reinvestment, and weaken competitiveness for horticulture exporters operating in highly competitive global fresh produce markets.”
HDC said this was particularly challenging for the sector, as it was capital-intensive, earned foreign currency, and supported large-scale employment across value chains.
“HDC believes policy coherence requires a recalibration of this punitive measure,” HDC said.
“This would help protect growth, support formalisation, and enable the export expansion needed to sustain Zimbabwe’s horticulture industry.”