Zimbabwe strives to grow hort exports

ZimTrade chief executive officer, Sithembile Pilime said COLEACP, which is part of the intra ACP indicative programme 2014-2020 for co-operation between the European Union and the African, Caribbean and Pacific countries, will help address prevalent hurdles in the horticultural value chain.

“The COLEACP programme, we are confident, will positively contribute towards addressing prevalent challenges within the horticultural value chain," she said.

COLEACP supports companies producing and exporting fresh and processed fruit and vegetables from ACP countries to develop and improve market access, facilitate access to finance, market intelligence and technical assistance.

Zimbabwe’s horticultural exports reached a peak in the 1999/2000 season with exports of $143 million, which was 10% of total exports, contributing about 4.5% to the country’s gross domestic product, making horticulture the second major foreign currency earner in the agricultural sector after tobacco.

Horticultural exports nosedived between 2000 and 2008, before bouncing back to $71 million in 2012 and $96 million in 2015. Last year exports took a knock to $83 million.

source: newsday.co.zw