Zimbabwe’s industrial sector has been challenged to reduce the country’s US$2.5 billion import bill by expanding local manufacturing, value addition and beneficiation.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa said there was an urgent need to scale up beneficiation, value addition, manufacturing and exports of processed materials across strategic sectors of the economy to meet the target.
Mnangagwa said this during the inaugural Zimbabwe Industrialisation Conference and Expo (ZICE) 2026 in Harare yesterday.
“The situation highlighted in the State of Industry Report, that the country is currently importing approximately US$2.5 billion worth of manufactured products which can be produced locally is untenable,” he said.
The country’s industrial sector has recorded significant growth in recent years, with capacity utilisation increasing from 35 percent in 2019 to 61.2 percent during the first quarter of 2026, according to the report.
Manufactured exports have also risen from US$360 million in 2019 to US$584 million, while the manufacturing sector now contributes 17 percent to the country’s Gross Domestic Product.
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“Additionally, the Study confirms that Zimbabwe’s industrial sector has demonstrated remarkable resilience, recording higher capacity utilisation, which is now at 61.2% in the first quarter of 2026, up from 35% in 2019,” Mnangagwa said.
“During the same period manufactured exports also increased from US$360 million to the current US$584 million, reflecting improved value addition and beneficiation.”
The manufacturing sector now accounts for 17% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
“Focus must not only be on import substitution, but also on new economic drivers, trade in high value exports, regional integration and export diversification. We are not an island. Increasing trade within SADC, COMESA and the African Continental Free Trade Area is an obligation that should be given priority,” he said.