Zimbabwe’s trade development and promotion agency, ZimTrade, has challenged the local clothing and textile industry to increase value added exports and exceed last year’s $62.3 million earnings. In Africa, total exports of clothing and textile in 2019 were $18.3 billion, according to Trade Map, dominated by Tunisia ($4.3 billion), Morocco ($4 billion), Egypt ($3.2 billion), South Africa ($1.5 billion, and Mauritius ($687 million).

ZimTrade said although the nature of export markets is not a challenge, the export figures shows that more needs to be done if the fashion industry is to contribute meaningfully to economic development and national exports. It said figures from Trade Map suggest that the country is exporting more clothing and textile products that are not value added, which translate to exporting jobs.

ZimTrade is developing capacities of local small and medium enterprises in the clothing sector, with the assistance of partners from the Netherlands-based PUM and SES of Germany.These activities have seen some companies improve their production efficiency, output, and quality, which ensures that Zimbabwean products are commensurate with international standards and result in increased confidence and improved export figures.