Pre-owned car imports surge 40pc
The Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) has recorded a 40,9 percent increase in imports of pre-owned vehicles at Beitbridge border post in the last eight months, it has emerged.
Officials statistics from Zimra indicate that the parastatals is collecting $8,5 million from vehicle imports at the country’s and Sadc’s busiest inland port of entry monthly.
Zimra’s acting head of communications Mr Taungana Ndoro said yesterday they were processing an average of 205 imports of second-hand vehicles at Beitbridge alone daily.
These, he said included those cleared under the returning residents rebate facility (Immigrant Rebate).
ZimTrade urges value-added trade
ZimTrade, Zimbabwe’s export promotion institution, has called for the deepening of valued-added manufacturing on current exports to Germany to diversify the country’s export basket and scale up global value chains.
The country has been a net exporter to the largest economy in Europe since 2013 and over the four-year period to December 2017, it has enjoyed a cumulative trade surplus of $100,9 million, according ZimTrade trade data.
Zimbabwe’s export basket to Germany comprises largely unprocessed tobacco, vermiculite, tea and coffee, cane sugar, raw hides and skins, among others.
“Opportunities exist for local companies to increase exports to Germany through value addition and mineral beneficiation,” ZimTrade said.
President Mnangagwa says foreign direct investment will play a key role in Zimbabwe’s quest for middle income status by 2030 and Harare will accelerate the pace of its robust global re-engagement to attract FDI, including resolving a decades old diplomatic standoff with the United States.
He made a special plea for investors from the US to explore the array of investment opportunities in the Southern African country, which is seeking a fresh start by charting a different but progressive path for sustainable economic growth after nearly two decades in the doldrums.
Addressing delegates during the Zimbabwe Investor Forum in New York at the Weekend, President Mnangagwa said the forum provided an opportunity for his administration to interact with business people from the US to explain investment prospects and opportunities in the country.