Apr 06, 2026 (New Zimbabwe/All Africa Global Media via COMTEX) --
RAW minerals continue to dominate Zimbabwe's exports raising questions on the impact of value addition policies employed by the government over the years.
According to the latest monthly economic review report published by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, out of the country's merchandise exports of US$969.4 million , the bulk of products on the exports list was made up of raw minerals like Gold which made up 50,9% of exports followed by tobacco which made up which made up 25,2% of the exports.
Platinum Group Metals (PGMs) made up 10,8%, coal 1,7%, steel 1,6% among others.
"The country's export structure remains highly concentrated in primary commodities, with gold contributing," the RBZ report said.
The bulk of the country's exports were destined for the United Arab Emirates (51.6%), followed by China (22.1%) and South Africa (13.4%), while the remaining share was distributed among other markets.
Market watchers believe that Zimbabwe continues to lose billions in a year owing to the sustained export of unprocessed raw minerals with experts further crying foul over the loss of downstream benefits like employment creation and tax revenues which comes along with beneficiation.
The statistics also plead for answers on the impact of policies employed by the government in as far as beneficiation is concerned.
However, economic experts have over the years criticised the beneficiation policies for lacking the proper supportive infrastructure particularly power shortages, inconsistent implementation, lack of capital for processing plants and a challenging investment climate.
Just recently, the mining sector expressed grave concerns on the knee jerk ban on raw lithium exports for being employed without proper timing and further eroding investor trust.
COMTEX_476664841/2029/2026-04-06T02:06:57
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