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Oliver Kazunga, Senior Business Reporter

ZIMBABWE’S manufacturing sector capacity utilisation grew 10,6 percent to 47 percent in 2020 as local companies remained resilient to shocks induced by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) revealed this today during the launch of its 2020 manufacturing sector survey results.

Capacity utilisation is a key statistic derived from the survey as it informs the country’s industrial performance.

Presenting the survey findings, CZI chief economist Mrs Tafadzwa Bandama said there was a silver lining within the country’s manufacturing sector with the private sector projecting 61 percent in capacity utilisation by the end of this year.

“I would like to highlight that we are emerging but we are not yet there. We are still below 50 percent of capacity utilisation although capacity utilisation improved from 36,4 percent in 2019 to 47 percent in 2020,” she said.

“This is a low output medium and this is why we say the increase from 36,4 percent to 47 percent in capacity utilisation are green shoots in capacity utilisation performance in a low output medium because we did not manage to overshoot the 50 percent mark,” she said.

CZI conducted the survey in industrial sectors that include food stuffs, beverages, transport and equipment, non-metallic minerals, clothing and footwear, tobacco and chemicals.

“Industry is hoping and projecting to increase capacity utilisation to 61 percent in 2021…to achieve this 61 percent, they (companies in the manufacturing sector) are asking for a consistent policy environment, exchange rate stability, price stability in the goods market as well