Between January and August of this year, ZIMBABWE’s clothing and garment export declines 58% to US$17 million, due to the occurrence of the pandemic of Covi-19, a fact gathered by ZimTrade, the national agency for the promotion of export commerce. During the same time last year the sector exported products worth US$42 million. From March, lockdowns enforced by policymakers around the world to combat the pandemic grounded shipping corporations and contributed to the closing of industries for much of this year. When individuals were asked to stay at home to prevent being contaminated by the infection, market demand was also affected.
ZimTrade said exports of cotton decreased from US$23 million in 2019 to US$6.7 million, although exports of footwear also decreased. ‘A structured approach to solving some of the difficulties facing players in this sector could help to increase their contribution to national exports,’ said the export promotion body of the country. Development enablers for the sector such as water, electricity and transport, where available, make up a large proportion of their cost drives and the supply of some of these is erratic, unreliable, expensive and dangerous, leading the majority of companies to be price-uncompetitive both in the domestic and international markets.
