Zim logistics costs amongst highest in region

Zimbabwe has one of the highest costs of doing business in the region from a logistics perspective. It costs an average of US$6 160 and takes 71 days to import a container into Zimbabwe, according to the 2015 World Bank Ease of Doing Business rankings. Zimbabwe dropped four places in the “trading across borders” category, from 176th to 180th in the world. The country has, however, moved up one point – from 172 out of 189 countries in 2014 to 171st in 2015 in the overall ranking. Put in the regional context, South Africa is rated 43rd, Botswana 74th, Namibia 88th, Swaziland 110th, Zambia 111th, Mozambique 127th, Lesotho 128th, and Angola 181st. Zimbabwe is well below regional and international benchmarks when it comes to importing and exporting, according to the World Bank. The 71 days it takes to import a container into Zimbabwe compares poorly against the Sub-Saharan Africa average of 37.6 days and Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) average of 9.6 days. It takes an average of 42 days to process the import documents required by the Zimbabwean authorities, at a cost of US$360. Inland transportation and handling takes a further 14 days, at a cost of US$5 000. Exporters are a little more competitive, with an average cost of US$4 265 per container (against regional average of US$2 200.7 and OECD average of US$1 080.3. It takes 53 days to export a container, compared to the regional average of 305 days and OECD average of 10.5 days. On the positive side, despite the widely reported shortage of capital in Zimbabwe, it moved from 147th to 104th in the “getting credit” category. Other improvements were “getting electricity” (up four places to 153rd – compared to 158th for South Africa), and registering property (up one place to 94th). INSERT World Bank Ease of Doing Business rankings Singapore 1 South Africa 43 Botswana 74 Namibia 88 Swaziland 110 Zambia 111 Mozambique 127 Lesotho 128 Zimbabwe 171 Angola 181 Eritrea 189