Published: 11 July 2017

Zimbabwe's value of car imports dropped by 20 percent in the first five months of this year as the government's protectionist policy begins to bear fruit.

Trade data from the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (Zimstat) shows that motor vehicles accounted for just $125 million of the $ 1,1 billion imports between January and May 2017.

The figure is a huge drop compared to the same period last year where vehicle imports gobbled more than US$300 million.

Taking into account that the government instituted tight import controls, an economist, Mr Zack Murerwa said the drop in car imports is a positive indication that such policies are yielding positive results in curbing outflows of forex.

Another economist, Dr John Nhavira added that the drop in vehicle imports is a reflection of a shift in demand by industry and commerce to locally assembled vehicles.

With the International Monetary Fund (IMF) latest report predicting a further drop in overall import volumes, an economist Dr Gift Mugano said vehicle imports are also expected to further drop in the near future.

Observers noted that the local motor industry must ride on this positive trend by producing vehicles that are of high quality at affordable prizes.

- zbc

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