Zimbabwe imported clothing and footwear worth $20 million in the first five months of the year, latest data from the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (Zimstat) shows, as local industry called for tighter controls on imports. Imports of clothing and footwear rose in comparison to the same period last year, when they accounted for $19, 3 million.
The imports include: handkerchiefs, coats, suits, etc. Paramount Garments managing director Jeremy Youmans who is leading the crusade against cheap imports says most companies are not operating at full capacity but the local industry has capacity to meet the country’s demand.
The flood of used clothes has compounded the woes of the local textile industry and squeezes the margins of established retailers such as Edgars and Truworths. Zimbabwe banned import of used clothes from September 1, 2015 but industry minister Mike Bimha says, in January 2017 the ban was unenforceable because the local industry had no capacity to meet demand. Youmans, however, stated the local industry has the capacity to manufacture all the items on the imports list.
Experts say Zimbabwe has a market for 80 million garments annually but only 20 million of those are locally manufactured. Almost 90 per cent of imported new clothes are exempt from duty because of regional trade agreements. The local footwear industry has not recovered from a collapse at the height of Zimbabwe’s economic crisis that saw hyperinflation reach 500 billion per cent.
