The Sunday Mail
So the sramble continues! After China! After Russia! A luta continua!
It’s the British this time around! They are coming to town this month-end. Ms Catriona Laing, the British Ambassador to Zimbabwe, has already told us that: “For the first time in many years (more than a decade, to be precise), we are sponsoring an official trade delegation to Zimbabwe at the end of October.”
She also told us that members of the delegation will be looking for trade and investment opportunities.
Already, this wonderful nation has trebled the volume of scholarships it is offering to Zimbabweans under the Chevening Scholarships programme.
And no, they have not trebled the volume of sanctions. Neither have they ameliorated them. Some things don’t just change, I bet.
There is always a reason why the British come to Zimbabwe. That has been the case since the days of Cecil John Rhodes. The poor fellow had suffered ill-health all his life while in England. He had to be sent to live in this part of the world so that the good climate here would benefit his fragile health.
Where else could he have gone except Zimbabwe, a country with the best climate on earth?! That is according to International Magazine’s 2011 Quality of Life Index.
Before he knew it, Rhodes was already fit and strong. So strong that colonising this country became part of his bonus.
Who is sick this time around? Is it the whole bunch of the visiting delegation? Oh, it’s not about the sunshine! It’s about trade and investment.
What is going to be the “bonus” for the British this time around?
Beyond “trade and investment”, what the British know already is that we are richer than them. In fact, we are the richest country in the world in terms of natural resources per capita. That is at least according to the International Monetary Fund’s Natural Resources Per Capita Index.
Who would not want to deal with the richest country on the planet?
What appals me, however, is this: Is it not contradictory or unfair to seek trade and investment with a country you have imposed economic sanctions on?
Government is actually suing the European Union over sanctions (whose imposition was lobbied for by Britain) and the financial losses associated with them.
I also understand that in June, British representatives failed to pitch up at the General Court of the European Union to make representations at the hearing of this case.
Against this background, the British are coming to Harare.
“We want to build on the very good (Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation) Zim-Asset economic blueprint that has just been developed,” said Ms Laing.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of Zim-Asset!
As we seek to optimise our gains from foreign trade and investment deals, it would be very important for industry and commerce to be conversant, beforehand, with the trade pattern between Zimbabwe and Britain, as well as opportunities that exist.
I have, therefore, researched on Trade-Map, a web-based trade flow analysis tool developed by the International Trade Centre, to observe the trade dynamics between Zimbabwe and Britain.
This fantastic tool reminds me of my formative years as an industrial economist for a local chamber of industry. I would like to utilise the remainder of this important space to explore those dynamics.
From the general look of things, it appears Zimbabwe is largely exporting agricultural products to Britain in exchange for manufactured products.
Our top exports to Britain are sculptures and statuary, fruits and vegetables, frozen fish meat, cut flowers, iron and steel articles, jewellery, as well as footwear.
In the interest of fostering value-addition as espoused by Zim-Asset, it would be important to re-calibrate our trade with Britain by reducing the volume of goods we are exporting in raw state.
Local products that are dynamic and have export potential on the British market are edible vegetables, roots and tubers, edible fresh fruits, nuts, citrus fruits and melons.
Because of our troubled textiles and clothing sector, we are now virtually unable to export jerseys, pullovers, cardigans and waistcoats to Britain.
We used to export these finished products in significant quantities.
It is, therefore, crucial to recapitalise this important sector, which has even been prioritised in the Industrial Development Policy. The sector is also very labour-intensive and has the potential to create many jobs when resuscitated.
So, what are we importing from Britain?
It is stuff like petroleum oils and preparations, automobiles, diesel-powered trucks, bicycle parts, bakery ovens, books, vehicle parts, whiskies, medical and veterinary instruments and appliances (to mention the top imports only).
Going forward, Zimbabwe has to aggressively focus on export diversification by developing new markets and new products, too.
As things stand, our exports are highly concentrated in a few countries, with South Africa dominating.
Export diversification makes Zimbabwe less vulnerable to volatility in terms of export revenues, or adverse shocks on demand or terms of trade.
As we work towards fostering export diversification, we should essentially focus on key issues such as cost competitiveness, level of value-addition, high quality and differentiated products, adequate foreign markets information and technological advancement.
Meanwhile, we continue rehearsing our hospitality as we await the wonderful British.
