Zimbabwe is the world’s biggest exporter of “unused postage, revenue or similar stamps”, according to official statistics. In 2010 Zimbabwe sold more than half a billion dollars’ worth of unused government-issued stamps to buyers unknown, according to official statistics. The problem is that no-one believes the figures, and there is much speculation around what constitutes unused postage stamps. Zimbabwe’s export mix is made up primarily of unused postage, revenue or similar stamps (17%); nickel mattes and other products of nickel metallurgy (14%), tobacco, raw (11%), diamonds (11%), and gold (9%). The biggest export trade partners in 2013 were South Africa (68.9%), United Arab Emirates (12.4%), China (2.2%), Zambia (2.5%), and Mozambique (7.3%), according to the World Trade Organisation (WTO). “Strict control in trade exercised by the government and the relatively high customs duties create a difficult access to the country,” according to the WTO. Other barriers that “continued to harm foreign trade” during 2013 were “the lack of long-term economic and political reforms, the State control over the companies, insecurity and a lack of skilled labour force”.
