ZimTrade Leads 15 Zimbabwean Export Firms to Beira to Boost Trade with Mozambique

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Reporter

ZimTrade, Zimbabwe's national trade development body, is leading an outward trade-seller mission to Beira, Mozambique, from July 1 to 3, featuring 15 export-ready Zimbabwean companies. This initiative follows a market scan conducted in March 2025, which identified significant export opportunities for local businesses. ZimTrade chief executive officer, Mr. Allan Majuru, said the study established immediate trade potential and long-term partnership opportunities that local exporters can capitalise on.

"Mozambican businesses demonstrated particular interest in our construction materials, agricultural inputs and processed food products, with many importers actively seeking reliable suppliers," he said. The demand in Mozambique's booming construction sector is notable, with Zimbabwean exports including US$5.5 million in steel and US$1.4 million in timber in 2023. Additionally, Mozambique currently absorbs 19 percent of Zimbabwe’s cereal exports, along with horticultural products like tea, coffee, avocados, macadamias, and pineapples. ZimTrade emphasised that the outward mission offers businesses a platform to engage with Mozambican counterparts, explore trade opportunities, and secure export orders for products already in demand.

The Zimbabwean delegation comprises companies from key sectors, including processed foods, horticulture, building and construction materials, agricultural inputs, PPEs (personal protective equipment), leather products, and services. The three-day mission will begin with a Trade and Investment Conference, bringing together business executives, trade support institutions, Mozambican government officials, and importers. This mission aligns with a May 2023 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between ZimTrade, ZIDA, and Mozambique’s APIEX, which promotes joint participation in trade events and institutional exchanges. According to ZimTrade, the agreement encourages knowledge sharing, business matchmaking, and market expansion, which are the key objectives of the Beira mission.

ZimTrade has been actively organizing similar trade missions, including a 2024 outward mission to Tete Province, which helped local firms establish distribution partnerships and even set up operations in Mozambique. This has strengthened trade ties between the two nations, supported by their geographic proximity.

Mozambique is Zimbabwe’s fourth-largest export market, with data from Trades Map showing a 12 percent increase in exports from US$354 million in 2019 to US$398 million in 2023. Local companies have been benefiting from a bilateral agreement signed in 2005, allowing duty-free trade with 25 percent local value addition. Both countries are also part of the SADC Protocol, which aims to reduce trade barriers. Outward seller missions organised by ZimTrade align with the Government’s National Export Strategy of growing exports by 10 percent annually. Since its inception, President Mnangagwa’s administration has focused on promoting investment through engagement, re-engagement, and policy thrusts such as "Zimbabwe is Open for Business."

The Government has demonstrated its commitment to economic growth, development, and investment promotion through a range of business-friendly economic policy reforms and the issuance of various incentives such as tax breaks.