Breakfast meeting for Angola market research findings

15 Jun, 2014 - 00:06 0 Views

The Sunday News

Ngonidzashe Chiutsi Business Correspondent
ZIMTRADE is next week set to hold a breakfast business meeting in Bulawayo to disseminate findings of the Angola market research which was carried out in April this year. In a press release, ZimTrade, invited local companies and individuals eager to venture into the Angola market.

“ZimTrade will be disseminating findings of the Angola market research on Thursday and Friday in Harare and Bulawayo, respectively. The research was conducted during the period 27 April to 11 May 2014 and will assist ZimTrade to update the current information on the Angola market,” said ZimTrade.

“The purpose of the research was to generate specific information on possible products to consider for the Angola market and other market related intelligence to enhance the prospects of market penetration for Zimbabwean products,” said ZimTrade chief executive  Ms Sithembile Pilime.

She said the market researches were to ensure that the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation (Zim Asset) objectives were met.

“These market exploration initiatives by ZimTrade are a major contribution towards the realisation of the Zim Asset, which places emphasis on the expansion of the regional markets to increase export earnings,” said ZimTrade.

The trade organisation said in the medium to long term, it would intensify these market exploration initiatives to cover other markets such as DRC, Tanzania, Kenya, Limpopo Province of South Africa and Mozambique to encourage the diversification of destinations for Zimbabwe exports.

In 2012 ZimTrade did a market research in South Sudan, Africa’s newest state, where various business opportunities were discovered.

The trade organisation also embarked on the same mission in Mozambique’s Tete Province where it explored business opportunities.

Local companies are failing to venture into the export market due to a number of challenges, resulting in a negative trade balance.

Reports say Zimbabwe’s exports have increased since 2009 from $2,2 billion to $3,5 billion in 2013.

However, the imports have increased at a faster rate during the same period from $3,5 billion to $7,7 billion.

This has resulted in the trade deficit widening significantly from $1,3 billion to $4,2 billion thus weakening the country’s Balance of Payments and the country’s liquidity conditions.

A ZimTrade’s Export Manufacturing Capacity Survey for 2013 revealed that over 70 percent of local companies that have been exporting in the past 10 years had stopped due to numerous challenges such as hassles in producing for export and low production.

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