ZimTrade hosted seminars in Harare and Bulawayo to share findings from a market survey carried out in Botswana in February 2018. The key objective of the research was to gather market intelligence on products and services suitable for export to Botswana.
Results from the survey identified opportunities for Zimbabwean manufacturers in the processed foods and fresh produce sectors, agricultural implements and inputs, building material and mining supplies.
Building supplies
In a bid to stimulate the economy, the government of Botswana embarked on an infrastructure development programme, the National Development Plan 11. The programme has resulted in substantial investments in public infrastructure such as roads, water and sewage reticulation, schools, power generation and distribution among others. These projects are being complemented by private sector participation which has seen the construction of shopping malls, offices and housing apartments in most towns and urban villages across Botswana. The construction boom offers opportunities for the supply of building materials such as timber, poles, door and window frames, fencing material and paint amongst others.
Agricultural inputs and implements
In the agricultural sector, the government of Botswana offers support programmes which include free or subsidised tillage, seeds, fertilisers, chemicals, implements, irrigation and fencing, among others. There are also special projects such as the Pandamatenga and Zambezi agro-commercial projects that are at the centre of agricultural development in Botswana and offer unique opportunities to supply both inputs and implements.
Specific products that have a market in the Botswana agriculture sector therefore include seeds, animal feed, water pumps, irrigation pipes, tractors, fertilisers, disc harrows, ploughs, wire, fencing poles, insecticides and pesticides, among others. In 2016, Botswana imported US$238 million worth of agricultural inputs and implements, with South Africa supplying 88% of the products.
Processed foods
Between 2012 and 2016, Botswana imported processed foods worth an average of US$429 million. Major import products include, sugar, fruit juices, sweets, biscuits and dairy products, among others. According to some of the retailers, the quality of Zimbabwean food products is amongst the best in Africa and some of them used to be household brands in Botswana.
Horticultural produce
Botswana’s climatic conditions mean certain horticultural produce cannot be grown locally hence its US$63 million import bill in 2016. Produce with potential in the market include; bananas, avocadoes, oranges, lettuce and cucumbers, among others.
Zimbabwe and Botswana have a Preferential Bilateral Trade Agreement which provides for reciprocal duty-free trade on all products grown, wholly produced, or manufactured wholly or partly from imported inputs subject to a 25 percent local content requirement.
In addition, Zimbabwe and Botswana are both signatories to the SADC Trade Protocol – an agreement between SADC Member States to reduce customs duties and other barriers to trade on products from each other.
For more specific details on the survey findings, please email Anne Bake on abake@zimtrade.co.zw or Tatenda Marume on tmarume@zimtrade.co.zw
Publish Date: Monday 07 May 2018
