eBusiness Weekly
Golden Sibanda
DUBAI arguably presents a huge opportunity to act as the gateway of Zimbabwean exports into the entire lucrative Gulf region and beyond, national trade promotion body ZimTrade says.
ZimTrade said, already, the annual value of trade between Zimbabwe and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), of which Dubai is one of the key cities, had vaulted 622 percent to US$1,7 billion in just the five years to 2021.
This comes as Zimbabwe, which targets 10 percent growth in annual shipments under its National Export Strategy, recorded its largest inflows of US$9,7 billion in 2021.
Export growth is also an integral element of Zimbabwe’s projected growth trajectory in the short to medium term, estimated at 7,3 percent last year and 5,5 percent this year.
Located in a largely arid region, ZimTrade said Dubai could be a huge market and export conduit for Zimbabwe’s food products, given it is one of the largest re-exporters of food products.
Zimbabwe is now Dubai’s 16th largest partner in Africa out of the continent’s 57 nations. The Gulf state has also become Zimbabwe’s second largest trade partner, after South Africa.
Zimbabwe’s trade promotion body said growth in trade with the UAE was a result of President Mnangagwa’s engagement and re-engagement drive coupled with his “Zimbabwe is open for business’’ mantra.
Dubai has seen massive transformation in economic significance over the last few years, on the back of a massive boom in economic activity that include tourism, construction and trade.
“You will find that these emerging economic activities have created opportunities for Zimbabwean products. Dubai is the gateway to the Middle East and is one of the largest re-exporters of food in the world,” ZimTrade said.
The national trade body said significant opportunities for Zimbabwe’s exports into Dubai and the Middle East lay in horticulture, arts and crafts, leather products and services sectors.
“Already, buyers have expressed interest to source Zimbabwean products such as avocados, strawberries, blueberries, citrus, peas, fresh and dried fruits and sweet potatoes. Other low hanging horticultural products for exporting to Dubai include tea and coffee,” ZimTrade said. Zimbabwe’s high literacy rate, ZimTrade noted, also presented opportunities for local start-up companies to establish remotely located call centres for UAE firms.
“Due to the proliferation of hotels in Dubai, there is a strong sense that exports of the arts and crafts sector could do well in the country. There is further market for goat meat in Dubai.
“However, to penetrate the meat market in the Islamic emirate, meat producers who wish to export to Dubai must ensure their products are Halal certified,” ZimTrade said.
ZimTrade said President Mnangagwa’s economic diplomacy agenda was bearing fruitful results given the country was now making inroads into non-traditional markets.
“The economic diplomacy agenda is bearing fruits, which is evidenced by the growth of Zimbabwe’s export to Dubai. Between 2017 and 2021, we have seen exports to Dubai balloon from US$223 million to US$1,7 billion,” ZimTrade said.
It also noted that Zimbabwe’s embassy in the UAE, which was opened in 2019 as a reciprocal effort to Abhu Dhabi’s opening of a consulate office in Harare in 2018, had been a major factor in boosting trade.
ZimTrade also said trade between the two nations had grown on account of trade missions the trade promotion entity had taken to Dubai, a total of three just in 2021.
The UAE has greatly expanded its influence on the African continent in recent years, including economically. In 2021, Dubai-based logistics firm DP World pledged to invest more than US$1 billion in infrastructure throughout Africa over the next few years to promote trade, according to leading UAE publication Al Monitor.
Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry director of international offices, Omar Khan, recently said the potential for synergies were high between the two countries and that these could bolster trade and investment opportunities.
According to Khan, Zimbabwe’s main exports to Dubai are pearls and precious stones, which account for 95 percent with tobacco, edible fruits and nuts also being part of the basket.
Zimbabwe largely imports value added products from Dubai such as mineral fuels, essential oils and cosmetics, electronics and value-added precious stones. Khan also reportedly indicated that Duba and other Gulf states exporters had a huge opportunity to grow their share of exports to Zimbabwe on products ranging from industrial machinery, vehicles and parts, chemicals, paper and plastic products among others.
The UAE therefore is now a key element of Zimbabwe’s export led growth strategy, which has started bearing results.
Recent statistics show Zimbabwe’s exports between January-December 2021 stood at US$6,03 billion, a 37,3 percent increase from US$4,39 billion recorded in the same period in 2020.
