SA remains top trading partner

South Africa was Zimbabwe’s top trading partner in 2013, according to figures released by the European Union (EU) Commission for Trade. These are the most recent available full-year figures. According to the report South Africa supplied 49.5% of Zimbabwe’s imports by value in 2013 (around ¤2 billion or R23.5 bn). The second-biggest exporter to Zimbabwe was Zambia, at a value of ¤383m (R5bn). Most of these exports were foodstuffs, with Zambia being a major supplier of GMO-free maize to Zimbabwe. The market is closed to South African maize exporters as most of the country’s farmers use genetically modified grain, which is banned in Zimbabwe. China was the thirdbiggest exporter, with goods valued at R4.7 bn, followed by the EU at R3.4 bn. The EU is, however, the second-biggest export market for Zimbabwe, with goods valued at R4.6 bn going to Europe in 2013. This left the EU with a trade deficit of ¤147 million. The number is, however, a minuscule percentage of total EU trade. Zimbabwe ranks as the 99th biggest exporter to the EU and 139th biggest market. Neither number registers as a percentage of total EU trade with the world. There was a 61% growth in tobacco exports to the EU in 2013 – showing that Zimbabwe’s tobacco industry is recovering after the commercial farmers were forced to leave their farms. Machinery is the biggest single export segment from the EU to Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe’s biggest export market was China, with goods and products valued at R6.5 bn. China, according to people in the tobacco industry interviewed by FTW, has become a major importer of Zimbabwean tobacco. The third-biggest export market for Zimbabwe is South Africa, at a value of R4 bn. China is Zimbabwe’s second-biggest trade partner after South Africa (total trade R22 bn), followed by the EU on R8 bn, and Zambia on R6.1 bn.