- Zimbabwe’s trade deficit widened to US$228 million in March 2025, a 4.7% increase from February's US$217.9 million
- Imports surged by 10.9% to US$809.9 million, an increase of US$79.5 million from February's US$730.4 million
- Chemical fertilizer imports more than tripled to US$22.2 million
Harare-Zimbabwe’s trade deficit widened to US$228 million in March 2025, a 4.7% increase from February’s US$217.9 million, as soaring imports overwhelmed modest export growth.
Despite new highs in exports of gold, nickel mattes, manufactured tobacco, ferro alloys, and mineral substances ,the rapid rise in imports of petroleum oils, maize, soya bean oil, motor vehicles, and chemical fertilizers bared critical structural weaknesses.
Imports surged by 10.9% to US$809.9 million, a US$79.5 million increase from February’s US$730.4 million.
Petroleum oils, accounting for 20.1% of the import bill, rose 10% to US$143 million from US$130 million.
With no domestic refining capacity, Zimbabwe depends entirely on fuel imported via the Feruka pipeline from Mozambique and road transport from South Africa.
Maize imports jumped 25% to US$65 million from US$52 million, reflecting severe food security issues. The 2024/2025 agricultural season, battered by El Niño-induced droughts, saw maize yields drop 30% below the five-year average, according to the Grain Marketing Board.
With irrigation systems covering less than 10% of arable land and policy failures like delayed input distribution and inadequate subsidies crippling farmers, Zimbabwe has turned to maize imports from South Africa and Zambia.
Soya bean oil imports climb sharply 73.3% to US$26 million from US$15 million, fuelled by demand for cooking oil and margarine in households and food processing.
Declining domestic soya bean production, hampered by high input costs, limited seed access, and competition from cheaper imports, has strained the edible oil sector, where low crushing capacity at plants like Surface Wilmar forces reliance on refined oil imports, primarily from South Africa.
Motor vehicle imports climbed to US$24.1 million from US$21.4 million, driven by demand for transport vehicles to support infrastructure and mining activities.
Chemical fertilizer imports more than tripled to US$22.2 million from US$6.8 million, reflecting efforts to boost agricultural productivity within declining soil fertility and limited domestic production.
This offset the dwarfed the exports growth of 13.5% to US$581.9 million, a US$69.3 million increase from February’s US$512.6 million.
Semi-manufactured gold, contributing 42.4% or US$246.8 million, nickel mattes at 16.5% or US$96.0 million, and tobacco at 15.7% or US$91.4 million accounted for 74.6% of export value.
Ferro alloys, reached new highs since November 2024 from 24.4 million to 278 million, driven by seasonal tobacco sales and marginal improvements in mining output.
However, challenges persist, gold revenue is eroded by smuggling, with 15-20% of production lost to informal channels, and reliance on agents for sales reduces direct earnings.
Tobacco and nickel face constraints from power outages, unfavourable weather, exploitative contract farming, and limited value addition, leaving exports vulnerable to global price volatility and domestic inefficiencies.
To address these deficit challenges, Zimbabwe must reduce the 30% foreign currency retention enabling exporters to reinvest in gold, nickel, and tobacco production.
Implementing digital tracking and direct gold sales could minimize smuggling and boost revenue.
Investing in solar energy and upgrading power infrastructure would stabilize mining and reduce fuel imports, while expanding irrigation, providing subsidies, and supporting agricultural cooperatives would enhance maize and soya bean yields, cutting import dependence.
Developing domestic refining for fuel and edible oils, alongside processing nickel and tobacco, would increase export value and economic resilience.
Equity Axis News
