Harare – National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) has moved closer to the Port of Beira in Mozambique to improve the movement of wheat imports into the country.
The baking industry is importing over 85 percent of the country's wheat requirements annually, contributing to an expanding trade deficit that has drained the country of much-needed liquidity.
Zimbabwe’s trade deficit has breached the -$2 billion as at September 30th, which is ahead of the total deficit incurred in the full year to December 2017 of -$1.8 billion a sign of sustained imports pressure.
In a statement the parastatal’s spokesperson Nyasha Maravanyika said NRZ has been taking delivery of wheat wagons from its interchange point at Machipanda on the Zimbabwe – Mozambique border.
“However, due to challenges on the Mozambique side with the movement of rail traffic into Zimbabwe, the parastatal board has made a decision to go beyond the interchange point closer to the Port of Beira to collect wheat traffic destined for the country.”
Sources privy to the developments say so far the state-owned utility has sent a couple of trains between Sunday and Tuesday to collect 45 wagons of the commodity.
Maravanyika said the move is meant to assist in the fast transportation of wheat into the country.
“There is nothing we can do because we are already in that process which we believe shall unlock more value in the transportation of the commodity to boost the local industry.”
Market watchers say the fast transportation of wheat imports by the railway utility is also anticipated to improve viability of the wheat industry value chain in terms of raw material availability at low costs and stabilise prices of by-products mainly bread.
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