Zimbabwe is on the verge of ratifying a bilateral trade agreement with the UK, which it aims to use to secure favorable terms of trade ahead of the expected exit of Britain from the European Union. Zimbabwe has already created a draft of a bilateral trade agreement, even as the UK is preparing itself to leave the EU, which will bolster the existing trade relationship between the two countries.
Allan Majuru, the managing director of ZimTrade, the Zimbabwe government’s affiliated trade promotion body, spoke about the development of the trade pact: “I am very much aware that Zimbabwe will sign a trade agreement with Britain. It’s under the process of ratification. If you look at our trade, there are a lot opportunities that are going to be opened because of Brexit.”
According to Majuru, the UK will require greater diversity in terms of imports, after Brexit, as it used to meet its needs from the European continental trade block.
The UK is a major trade partner for Zimbabwe, as exports from the African nation to the United Kingdom have risen by 276 per cent to a value of USD 112 million in 2018, in comparison to the 2012 value of USD 30 million. In 2018, the UK was the 3rd largest market for Zimbabwean exports, accounting for approximately 21 per cent of the goods moving from Zimbabwe to the EU.
Key food stuffs exports from Zimbabwe to the United Kingdom includes items such as passion fruit, mange tout peas, raspberries, black fermented tea, nectarines, oranges, and peaches.
