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Senior Business Reporter
ZIMBABWE has spent $32 million in the first 10 months of the year importing mechanically deboned poultry cuts and offals, sweet biscuits and bottled water pushing the import bill to $5,2 billion.

The Zimbabwe Statistical Agency (Zimstat) revealed that South Africa remains the country’s largest trading partner. Zimbabwe imported goods worth $2,26 billion from the neighbouring country between January and October this year.

Online reports from South Africa indicate that during the period the country imported items worth $4,4 million mainly deboned chicken cuts and offals, sweet biscuits worth $9,49 million as well as $18,54 million of bottled water, flavoured and sweetened.

During the period under review, Zimbabwe exported goods valued at only $1,58 billion to different parts of the world, mainly raw minerals.

However, the first 10 months of the year saw Zimbabwe’s trade deficit narrowing by 23,6 percent to $2,87 billion from $3,76 billion in the comparable period last year.

The decline in trade balance has been attributed largely to business failure that has led to the drop in demand for imported capital goods.

Recently, the government increased tariffs on basic commodities in an effort to curb imports.

Owing to a host of challenges facing the economy among them, intermittent power supplies, liquidity constraints, antiquated machinery and stiff competition from imports, the local manufacturing sector has over the years struggled to stimulate productivity to competitive levels.

Industry representative body, the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) says at least $8 billion is needed by the manufacturing sector to replace outdated technology.

In its manufacturing sector survey report for this year, it says capacity utilisation in companies has dipped to 36,3 percent from 39,6 percent in 2013.