Economic prospects for Zimbabwe are improving as the government brings inflation under control and introduces investment-friendly reforms.Inf lation in Zimbabwe dropped from a high of 557.21% in 2020 to 98.5% in 2021, according to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.The World Bank reports that economic recovery in 2021 was boosted by higher agricultural production, improved capacity utilisation in industry, and stabilisation of prices and exchange rates.It estimates that the gross domestic product will have grown by 5.1% in 2021, after declining by 6.2% in 2020.“The strong rebound is anchored by a better 2020/21 rain season, boosting agriculture, electricity, and water.”Improvement in the Zimbabwean economy is ref lected in the third quarter report for 2021 by the Reserve Bank.It states that Zimbabwean merchandise imports were valued at $1 961.3 million during the third quarter of 2021. This represented a 62.6% increase from $1 206.1 million recorded in the corresponding quarter in 2020.South Africa remained the biggest trading partner, accounting for 408% of Zimbabwean merchandise imports. Next was China at 13.4%, followed by Singapore on 12.3%.In the third quarter of 2021, Zimbabwe’s merchandise exports were valued at $1 740 million, up by 21.3% from $1 434.2 million recorded in the previous quarter. On a year-on-year basis, merchandise exports registered a growth of 61.9%, from $1 074.6 million in the corresponding quarter of 2020.The country’s exports were dominated by platinum group metals, valued at $736 million, followed by gold, $492.2 million, and tobacco, $171.3 million. The top three commodities accounted for about 80.6% of the third quarter’s export revenue.Chrome output at 481 287.7 tons in the third quarter of 2021 was 96% more than the output produced in the same period in 2020, according to the Reserve Bank.The main export destinations were South Africa (47.5%), the United Arab Emirates (30.7%), Mozambique (8.3%), China (2.7%) and Belgium (1.7%)Growth is expected to strengthen further in 2022 as the negative impacts of Covid-19 subside, rain levels remain good, and implementation of policies outlined in the National Development Strategy accelerates, according to the latest World Bank estimates.Good vaccination progress is likely to boost tourism, trade, transport, and other sectors that were negatively affected by pandemic disruptions.The World Bank is also confident that inf lation will be controlled.“Continued implementation of disinf lation policies and fine-tuning of the foreign exchange auction market are expected to keep average annual inf lation at two-digit levels in 2022 and 2023,” it states.
