Since the implementation of Zimbabwe’s controversial Statutory Instrument 64 (SI64) in June last year – which saw the ban of a wide variety of imports from South Africa – it is speculated that exports from SA to the neighbouring country have dropped by at least 10% over the past year.
The Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) reported yesterday that it had seen figures during the South African Development Community (SADC) Industrialisation Week that confirmed the widespread media speculation.
Official figures for the period have not yet been released but Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr Rob Davies, admitted to FTW Online recently that SA exporters had been negatively impacted by the ban.
He said SA was still negotiating with Zimbabwe around this and Zimbabwe had agreed to provide a list of products it produced locally so that it could be determined whether protection was needed on all the products banned under SI64 - and whether the regulation had made a difference to Zimbabwean production.
“We won’t play hardball if they can prove the respective industries need protection. But frankly we are sceptical that this is the case and we have to protect our own traders,” he said.
The Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries is however adamant that the import ban, implemented to boost local industry, is working saying in a statement recently that the capacity of local producers increased to more than 47% in 2016 from around 34% in 2015 after the import regulations came into force.
