HARARE - Zimbabwe’s trade facilitation body, ZimTrade, will be spearheading an investment mission in Mozambique as part of efforts to have local companies establish businesses in the country.
The trip is set for August in Tete province.
Tete’s economic activity has in recent years grown significantly, driven mainly by coal mining.
With abundant untapped mineral resources, the province could be producing 25 percent of the world’s coking coal by 2025. The mining boom has created downstream opportunities in the supply of a diverse range of goods and services, including specialised mining-related security.
It has also created business opportunities in construction and agro-industry.
Opportunities for trade include the supply of pharmaceutical products, protective clothing and footwear for the mining and construction sectors.
Food products on high demand in Tete include poultry, fresh fruit and vegetables, fortified foods, dairy products and cereals while the market has also got an appetite for materials for building, construction industry supplies and packaging.
In addition, specialist services in sectors such as engineering (repair and maintenance), health, training and teaching are also in demand.
ZimTrade said their mission is expected to build on the momentum gained during November 2012, when participating companies obtained orders and established contacts in Tete.
“Companies already in the market will be able to consolidate their positions and cement relations with their business partners. It will also provide an opportunity for companies exploring the market for the first time to establish new contacts,” said ZimTrade.
Following the 2012 Tete visit, Zimtrade conducted a market research of the market along with Nampula and Niassa provinces in May last year.
Meanwhile, the ZimTrade says Zimbabwean businesses can cash in on Angola’s thriving economy by investing in its various sectors, particularly manufacturing.
The oil-rich Angola currently imports about 80 percent of its goods.
ZimTrade chief executive Sithembile Pilime said local companies can export construction and steel products, farm produce, electrical goods and manufactured goods to Angola.
“Since the introduction of the multi-currency regime in 2009, Zimbabwe’s trade performance has not been satisfactory and the trade balance widened from $1, 3 billion in 2009 to $4, 1 billion in 2013,” she said while presenting market research findings on Angola.