ZIM TO HOST CONVENTION ON ECONOMIC GROWTH STRATEGY

HARARE- Zimbabwe will host an interna tional conven tion on the country’s eco nomic growth strategy that is set to be addressed by var ious speakers from across the world.

The International Convention on Zimbabwe’s Economic Growth Strategy: Current Experiences and Way Forward will be held in Victoria Falls from August 10- 12 and is being organised by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development.

The outcomes from the con vention are expected to assist Government in policy formu lation in the country’s quest to achieve a middle-income economy by 2030.

Meanwhile, Zimbabwe is looking to grow its leather products exports to 40 per cent of annual leather sector shipments by 2030, as part of efforts to diversify the coun try’s export basket, trade pro motion body ZimTrade says.

This will be achieved through the national leather sector strategy (2021-2030), launched in April 2021, to guide growth of leather ex ports and their value-addition.

Broadly, the initiative seeks to enhance the application of sustainable production tech nologies in the leather sector to promote production and leather exports currently at US$30 million.

The National Development

Strategy (NDS1) also identi fied the leather sector as one of the critical value chains and low-hanging fruits for a nippy turnaround of the local economy.

Finance and Economic Development Minister Mthuli Ncube, through the 2022 National Budget Statement, set aside US$10 million for a revolving fund to support the sector for value chain en hancement, including equip ment replacement and retool ing. The contribution of hides and skins value chain towards local economic growth is po tentially high, which calls for the right interventions that include embracing value addi tion initiatives.

ZimTrade says Zimbabwe’s leather industry is one of the emerging sub-sectors that can spur economic growth if the value chain is fully developed and capacitated.

“In the drive to ensure that exports remain pivotal to the economy, the priority in the country’s national de velopment agenda is value addition and beneficiation of products currently being ex ported as primary goods,” said ZimTrade.

Roughly, 96 percent of Zimbabwe’s leather exports are raw hides and skins, which prejudices the coun try since the products fetch low on global markets com pared to value-added leather products. – THE HERALD, Zimbabwe.