- Gold Exports Rise, Value Drops: Gold export volumes increased to 40.2%, but value decreased to US$231.14 million
- Mixed Performance in Key Commodities: Tobacco exports grew to 19.3%, while nickel mattes, nickel ore, and ferro-chromium exports declined significantly.
- Trade Deficit Widens: Trade deficit increased by 4.2% to US$207.6 million
- Overall exports declined 14.7% to US$575 million
Harare- Gold exports in September 2024 surged to 40.2%, up from 37.9% in August and 34.2% in July while tobacco exports, partly or wholly stemmed, followed closely at 19.3%, marking a notable growth from 13% in August and 8.7% in July.
This is according to the latest trade data released by Zimstat.
Nickel mattes contributed 13%, increasing from 9.8% and 10.5% in August and July, respectively.
Among the top ten products exported in September 2024 were semi-manufactured gold, tobacco, partly or wholly stemmed/stripped, and nickel mattes, accounting for 40.2%, 19.3%, and 13.0% of the total value of US$575 million.
However, despite the increase in gold exports volume from 37.9% (2003.1 kg) to 40.2% (3417 kg) in September, the value of gold exports decreased to US$231.14 million from US$244.59 million in the prior month.
This decline is puzzling, given the rallying gold prices.
This might have been due to exporting semi-manufactured or unwrought gold, which commands lower prices compared to refined or polished gold. The quality of the exported gold may have been of lower purity, resulting in reduced value compared to prior month.
Other factors may have also played a role in the decrease in gold value include pre-agreed prices in future contracts which may have locked in lower prices, despite the recent price rally.
The decline in gold value was not isolated, as other key export commodities also experienced significant declines.
Nickel ore and concentrates dropped to US$19.6 million from US$36.7 million, ferro-chromium decreased to US$16 million from US$36 million, coke and semi-coke of coal slipped to US$15.7 million from US$18.6 million, other ores and concentrates fell to US$14 million from US$35 million, and other mineral substances declined to US$14 million from US$26.7 million.
As a result, the overall export value for September 2024 totaled US$575.0 million, representing a 14.7% decline (US$99.1 million) from the August 2024 value of US$674.0 million.
Consequently, Zimbabwe's goods trade deficit for September 2024 widened to US$ 207.6 million, a 4.2% increase from the August 2024 deficit of US$ 199.1 million.
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