Various farmer associations and industry stakeholders’ in Zimbabwe have called for increased value addition to raw cotton to convert it into finished products, to revitalise the industry.
At the launch of 2021/22 cotton marketing season in Mahuwe, Engineer Chris Murove, CEO, Cotton Council of Zimbabwe (CCPZ) said, this move will not only benefit cotton farmers but also boost the extraction and refinement of cooking oil once the cotton farmer has access to their seed and lint. The remaining cotton cake can be used to manufacture feed for beef and dairy cattle, he added.
Dr Anxious Masuka, Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, also urged stakeholders to embrace cotton value addition, as the country journeys towards industrialising rural communities.
Overall, local Zimbabwean cotton industry processes about 20 percent of its lint production. The Government ensures that the local textile industry’s lint requirements are met by ensuring that each ginner reserves 30 per cent of lint production for local consumption.
Exporting shirts from processed cotton would have helped Zimbabwe boost revenues from the sector by 424 per cent to $219 million, from the US$42 million netted in 2023, said Masuka.
The country also exported cotton linters worth $7,318,456 and yarn worth $2,596,966 during the year. Had it exported cotton linters, cotton yarn and shirts it would have made a lot of revenue, he added.
