UAE Trade Surge Lifts Zimbabwe Exports Arabian Post

Zimbabwe earned about US$2.78 billion from exports in the first quarter of 2026, with the UAE accounting for roughly half of that value at US$1.4 billion. South Africa and China followed closely behind, each taking about 19 per cent of Zimbabwe's export earnings during the same period. The three markets together absorbed nearly 89 per cent of Zimbabwe's exports by value, underscoring both the opportunity and the concentration risk in the country's trade structure.

Gold remains the dominant driver. Semi-manufactured gold generated about US$1.4 billion in export earnings in the first quarter, followed by tobacco at US$511 million. Nickel mattes, nickel ores and ferro-chromium also ranked among the leading export products, keeping Zimbabwe's external earnings heavily tied to commodity prices.

Full-year trade patterns show a similar trend. Exports to the UAE rose from about US$2 billion in 2023 to about US$5 billion in 2025, while imports from the UAE declined from US$304 million in 2024 to US$226 million in 2025. That shift lifted Zimbabwe's trade surplus with the Gulf state to about US$4.5 billion last year, up from US$2.4 billion a year earlier.

The Zimbabwean Business Council UAE, established under Dubai Chambers, has become a key intermediary in the commercial push. Its chairperson, Simba Makamadze, has said the body is moving beyond networking into deal facilitation, with active engagements in energy generation, mining projects, manufacturing and agriculture. The council has also supported exporter outreach programmes aimed at helping Zimbabwean firms navigate freight, compliance, market access and buyer networks in the Gulf.

A further sign of expanding financial links is the planned establishment of ZB Bank within the Dubai International Financial Centre. If completed, the move could improve financing channels for Zimbabwean companies seeking Gulf capital and for investors looking at opportunities in Harare, Bulawayo and mineral-rich provinces.

The UAE's attraction for Zimbabwe is not limited to gold. Dubai's logistics infrastructure, free zones, commodity exchanges and re-export networks give Zimbabwean exporters access to markets across the Middle East, Asia and Europe. Agricultural exporters are also looking at the Gulf's food import dependence, with Zimbabwe seeking to expand shipments of horticulture, tobacco, citrus, berries, tea and other higher-value products.

Investment interest is also spreading into retail and airport logistics. DP World has been licensed to establish duty-free shops at Zimbabwe's airports, a development expected to create jobs and strengthen the aviation-linked retail sector. Such projects reflect the UAE's wider push into African logistics, ports, trade finance and food security supply chains.

Harare's policy focus is shifting towards value addition as officials seek to capture more revenue from mineral and agricultural exports. The suspension of exports of some raw minerals, including lithium concentrates, is part of a broader effort to push domestic processing. Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe has begun exporting lithium sulphate from a US$400 million processing plant, signalling an early step towards higher-value mineral exports.

The policy shift carries risks. Export controls and beneficiation rules can attract processing investment, but abrupt changes may unsettle investors if power supply, transport infrastructure and regulatory consistency do not improve. Mining companies have already pushed back against higher fiscal burdens, prompting authorities to revise gold royalty plans after warnings that steeper charges could weaken investment in new projects.