Published: 23 April 2018

The country's import bill has narrowed by 14,5 percent to US$453 million since January from the same period last year, on the back of a 15,7 percent growth in exports to US$754 million, driven mainly by minerals and tobacco.

The influx of foreign goods into the country continues as data from ZIMSTAT indicate a US$1,1 billion dollar import bill since the beginning of this year.

While capital goods such as machinery and equipment for production are dominating the imports, a continuous appetite by Zimbabweans for foreign miscellaneous goods such as processed foodstuffs, pampers, toothpicks and toothbrushes is also affecting the import bill.

However, it is the sudden rise in the mining sector output that has resulted in the resource commodities dominating the overall level of export receipts to over US$385 million.

Local goods valued at more than US$655 million were exported to South Africa and unsurprisingly, the bulk of the imports valued at US$785 million were also from the same major trading partner.

Despite a sudden drop in the volumes and value of car imports since January, ZIMSTAT data shows a huge rise in the motor vehicle accessories and spare parts imports.

According to a regional economic think tank, Zimbabwe's main exports are still dominated by commodities which are more vulnerable to external shocks and pricing fluctuations on the global market, thus having a negative impact on the total turnout.  
- zbc

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