The Zimbabwean Government has decided to cut duty on import of clothes and textiles, Finance Minister of Zimbabwe has said. The duty on textile and clothing items was recently raised from 40 percent +US$1 per kg to 40 percent +US$3 per kg through the 2012 National Budget Statement presented late last year.
The Minister said the cotton apparel manufacturers and textile industry stakeholders have raised concerns over some of the tariff measures that the Government made effective from January 1 this year, adhering to the 2012 Budget. He added that the Government would soon start discussions with stakeholders to revise the tariff and would soon make a formal announcement in this regard.
The new measures were implemented this year to cut down on imports, aid domestic production and to afford a level playing field to the textile industry in the country. However, local production falls short of satisfying domestic demand, the Minister said.
In 2011, Zimbabwe’s total exports stood at US$ 3.67 billion, much below its imports of US$ 6.2 billion. Such high dependence on imports, the Minister said, cannot be sustained for long and hence measures need to be adopted to support growth of domestic production.
Since 1997
