Zimbabwe’s trade surplus shrank 91% in September to $46.7 million, even as gold and tobacco kept doing the heavy lifting for export earnings.
Exports fell 19.3% to $1.36 billion, while imports rose 13.5% to $1.31 billion, according to the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency. August’s surplus had been $526.2 million.
Gold still leads
Semi-manufactured gold made up 47.6% of export earnings. A category ZimStat labels unspecified mineral substances followed at 21%, with stemmed or stripped tobacco at 9.1%. Industrial supplies made up 95.1% of the export basket.
Gold’s share has slipped. In May, ZimStat figures put it at 52.5% of exports, with nickel mattes at 14.3% and tobacco at 7.1%. Tobacco, the main farm export, earned about $1.1 billion between January and November last year, the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board said.
Imports and regional trade
South Africa remained the biggest source of imports at $422.6 million. China followed at $246.4 million, then Bahrain at $85 million and Singapore at $83.2 million. Together the four supplied 64% of imports. Mineral fuels and oils led the import bill at 26.7%, ahead of machinery at 14.8%, vehicles at 7.3% and electrical machinery at 5.5%.
Within the African Continental Free Trade Area, tobacco, nickel mattes, iron and steel, and coal coke made up 57% of Zimbabwe’s $158.1 million in regional exports.
The farm season ahead
The import mix points to steady demand for machinery and fertilizers as farmers prepare for the summer cropping season. The government says it has secured maize seed and top-dressing fertilizer for the Pfumvudza and Intwasa program, and about 45% of basal fertilizer has been distributed. Officials are targeting 3 million small-scale farmers as the country braces for a potentially severe El Niño.
The reports reviewed do not say what drove the drop in shipments. Gold alone accounts for nearly half of what Zimbabwe sells abroad, which keeps the trade picture closely tied to one metal.
