ZIMBABWE- The National Trade Development and Promotion Agency (ZimTrade) has announced plans to boost the visibility of the country’s agriculture products in Southern Africa and regional markets like Malaysia through targeted promotion strategies.
ZimTrade announced plans to facilitate the participation of over 50 local companies in trade promotion events in Botswana, Mozambique, Malaysia, and Zambia.
The agency revealed it intends to facilitate 25 companies’ participation in the Zambia Agriculture and Commercial Show (ZACS) from July 31 to August 5. ZimTrade also revealed plans to facilitate the participation of another 20 companies in the Maputo International Trade Fair (FACIM) from August 28 to September 3.
ZimTrade also revealed plans to facilitate local exporters’ participation at the Windhoek Agricultural and Livestock Show (WALS), which will take place from September 27 to October 5. The agency will also facilitate local companies’ participation in the 20th Malaysian International Halal Showcase (MIHAS), which will take place from September 17 to 20 in Kuala Lumpu.
The agency selected the trade events because of recent interest in Zimbabwean products in these areas.
Mr. Allan Majuru, ZimTrade’s CEO, said, “The interest in Zimbabwean products within the region has been steadily growing, largely due to the high quality and standards met by local manufacturers.”
“We are now leveraging the positive reviews that Zimbabwean products have garnered, along with our proximity to these markets, to push an even greater volume of products.”
Zimbabwe’s exports to Zambia have increased from US$58.35 million in 2017 to US$142.36 million in 2023, a key reason why Zambia was selected for the program. ZimTrade also revealed exports to Mozambique increased by 80.7% in Q1 2024 compared to last year.
Botswana was selected because of its proximity to Zimbabwe and its membership to SADC. Malaysia was selected as the first international destination for the program to serve as an access point to the Asian market.
The participants for all events will be selected from the agriculture and agribusiness, manufacturing and processing, consumer goods, and service sectors.
Majuru added, “We are confident that we will record huge deals at the scheduled trade fairs, and we will ride on the success recorded already concluded business linkage mission.”
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