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Our economy has underperformed in recent years. Its poor performance has shown in a number of ways among them low production, foreign currency shortage, public expenditure outstripping revenue inflows and imports growing quicker than exports. Also, investment has dried up; both local and foreign direct investment (FDI).

But it has been clear in recent months that while challenges remain, the economy was making some progress. Many factories that had been shut down are being opened while industry capacity utilisation is improving. Investment commitments have risen past the $16 billion mark and increasing. Demand for liquid fuels has been rising as well, one of the reasons why the supply of diesel and petrol has been tight since January. Confidence in the economy is returning.

Consistent with that growth trajectory, exports are picking up as well, according to data from the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (Zimstat).

The figures show that exports increased by 24 percent to $2,4 billion between February and August this year compared to $1,9 billion recorded in the comparative period in 2017.

Since exports are rising, the country’s trade deficit slid by 44 percent to $127 million in August from $229 million in February.

The volume of exports in August increased by 32 percent to $449,3 million compared to $340,3 million recorded the previous month. Zimstat also indicated that the country’s total trade between February and August improved by 25 percent to $6,4 billion compared to $5,1 billion posted in the same period last year.

Exports during the period under review largely comprised primary commodities like semi-refined nickel mattes (14 percent), jewellery (two percent), diamonds (two percent) and platinum (one percent), gold (34 percent), and flue-cured tobacco (12 percent). On the other hand imports were largely made up of wheat (one percent), motor vehicles (one percent), ammonium nitrate (one percent), diesel (15 percent), unleaded petrol (eight percent), and electrical energy (three percent).

We recognise the challenges of the past few days. Due to foreign currency shortage and panic-buying, a number of products have disappeared while some firms are charging in foreign currency among them pharmacies, building materials’ suppliers and so on. Bread has been in short supply too as the country has not been importing wheat consistently and in the right volumes due to lack of foreign currency.

While this is so, news that exports have increased is uplifting indeed. Although the increase is not as high as we would have wanted, we recognise that for the first time in many years, the economy is exporting more. This is pleasing because it shows that the economy is producing more than it did last year. It shows that industry has taken the Government’s message for it to resume exports on a substantial scale.

If the economy exports more, it means it will earn more in foreign currency whose dire shortage is one of the many underlying causes of the prevailing challenges. We pray that exports continue to grow to a stage where they are greater in value than imports.

This piece of good news came days after the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) reported that capacity utilisation has increased significantly across all productive sectors, as it emerged that the manufacturing sector is operating at 20 percent above the same period last year.

The cooking oil sub-sector has also grown exponentially from three manufacturers eight years ago to seven this year, with jobs rising from 700 to 2 000 over the same period. Other companies such as Turnall and Delta Corporation have boosted production.

CZI president Mr Sifelani Jabangwe said recently:

“On average, everyone is performing better than last year. Industry is about 20 percent above last year’s performance and you might have seen that the IMF has revised our economic growth projections. Government has also revised the projections to 6,3 percent, which is the Sadc target. Essentially, we are one of the high growth economies in real terms. Due to the good performance, we use about 20 percent to 30 percent more foreign currency than last year and the challenges (forex shortages), are a result of our successes.”

While the growth in exports is commendable, we reiterate that industry needs to add value to the products it exports. This is more beneficial to our country as they earn more foreign exchange for the economy. An analysis of the products that led the growth in exports isn’t that pleasing — semi-refined nickel mattes (14 percent), jewellery (two percent), diamonds (two percent) and platinum (one percent), gold (34 percent), and flue-cured tobacco (12 percent).

The economy needs to grow its value addition capacity and be able to export finished products and do so in big volumes.