Botswana offers multi-million dollar market for Zim

Published: 10 May 2018

BOTSWANA has a huge market for Zimbabwean products as long as they are priced competitively, a ZimTrade survey has indicated.

The trade promotion body conducted a market survey in Botswana in February this year to gather intelligence on products and services suitable for export to that country.

Results from the survey identified opportunities for Zimbabwean manufacturers in the processed foods and fresh produce sectors, agricultural implements and inputs, building material and mining supplies.

"Botswana is willing to buy Zimbabwean products as long as they can compete on price. Zimbabwean products have a great potential on the Botswana market," the survey said.

Processed products that are popular in Botswana include Mazoe, Colcom products, Tanganda tea leaves, long life milk, baked beans, fish (bream) and potato chips.

Between 2012 and 2016, Botswana imported processed foods worth an average $429 million. Major imports included sugar, fruit juices, sweets, biscuits and dairy products, among others.

Opportunities in fresh produce are abundant in Botswana as the country imports a significant proportion of its fruit and vegetables.

"More than 90 percent of Botswana's imports originate from South Africa and the products include avocados, mangoes, apples, potatoes, bananas, green leaf vegetables among others," ZimTrade said.

Other sources include Malawi with one percent, Netherlands one percent, Zimbabwe 0,2 percent and Mozambique 0,2 percent.

Botswana's climatic conditions mean certain horticultural products cannot be grown locally, hence its $63 million import bill in 2016.

In the agricultural sector, Botswana requires 200 000 tonnes of cereal per year but current production can only meet 17 percent of annual requirements.

"Government is commercialising the sector to improve food security and the country's manufacturing industry is in its infancy and cannot support the envisioned growth in agriculture," added the survey.

"There are also special projects such as the $800 million Pandamatenga and Zambezi agro-commercial projects that are at the centre of agricultural development in Botswana and offer unique opportunities to supply both inputs and implement," it adds.

Specific products that have a market in the Botswana agriculture sector include seeds, animal feed, water pumps, irrigation pipes, tractors, fertilisers, disc harrows, ploughs, wire, fencing poles, insecticides and pesticides, among others.

In 2016, Botswana imported $238 million worth of agricultural inputs and implements, with South Africa supplying 88 percent of the products.

Zimbabwe and Botswana have a Preferential Bilateral Trade Agreement which provides for reciprocal duty-free trade on all products grown, wholly produced, or manufactured wholly or partly from imported inputs subject to a 25 percent local content requirement.
- fingaz

Tags: Botswana,