Source: ZimTrade developing horticultural clusters | The Herald
Business Reporter
NATIONAL trade development and promotion agency ZimTrade is developing clusters of horticultural producers in various provinces as it seeks to boost the production of the key export earner, its chief executive Mr Allan Majuru has said.
The cluster development would provide growth opportunities to small-holder farmers and forms part of ZimTrade’s broader plan to integrate farmers into the export business.
Zimbabwe’s horticulture sector is among the top five contributors to the gross domestic product and has huge potential to contribute to the growth of Zimbabwe’s exports.
The Southern African country has a diverse horticultural sub-sector while most of the producers are small scale farmers.
The growing global market for horticultural products, in the form of fruits, nuts and vegetables, presents opportunities for Zimbabwean sector players to grow their exports.
Under the cluster development programme, ZimTrade has already facilitated for rural farmers in Ndiyadzo, Manicaland Province, to attain an Ecocert Organic Standard, which will unlock market access to Europe.
“This attainment of the organic certification is a critical milestone in reaching the lucrative organic fruit market, especially in the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Germany, and other emerging markets such as the United Arab Emirates,” said Mr Majuru.
With the organic standard, smallholder pineapple farmers operating under Rusitu Valley Fruit Growers and Marketing Trust will unlock access to the lucrative global pineapple market.
As Zimbabwe intensifies efforts to revive the economy, Mr Majuru said the agricultural sector was a low hanging fruit with potential to earn the much-needed foreign currency through export of high quality horticultural products.
“Zimbabwe has a reputation for being a source of quality horticultural products,” he said.
“In fact, there is a general appreciation in countries like the Netherlands where buyers say Zimbabwean products such as blueberries taste better compared to other countries.
Currently, cash crops being produced for the export market include temperate fruits (oranges, apples, pears, peaches, and nectarines), tropical fruits and vegetables (baby corn, butternut, citrus, chilli, gem squash, kiwi, lychee, mango, passion fruit, and pineapples), baby carrots, fine beans, cherry tomatoes, mange tout peas, melon, strawberries and sweet corn, as well as flowers.
The major markets for Zimbabwe horticultural exports are; the Netherlands, The United Kingdom, South Africa, Germany, Hong Kong, Portugal, France, China, Norway, Poland and Spain.
The United Kingdom is the second largest importer of Zimbabwean horticultural products and with the coming in of the United Kingdom-Eastern and Southern African Economic Partnership Agreement, Britain has signalled intention to strengthen bilateral trade relations.
With the Horticulture Recovery and Growth Plan under implementation to stimulate export growth, indications are that local farmers will boost production, making it easy to meet requirements by buyers and growing demand.
Currently, there is a growing demand for organic foods among consumers, as more people are becoming health conscious and looking for products that are high in nutrients and low in calories.
Consumers are becoming more aware of foods containing synthetic pesticides and fertilisers and are switching to organic foods, which is driving the market growth of organic farming that is devoid of the chemicals used in crops.
Thus, by focusing on organic produce, there is potential for the horticulture sector to increase its contribution to national exports, riding on improved production by smallholder farmers and rural communities.
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