That dollar amount results from a 69.2% acceleration from $4.4 billion 5 years earlier in 2020.
Year over year, the total value of Zimbabwean exports grew by 2.9% compared to $7.23 billion starting from 2023.
The US dollar is the official currency of Zimbabwe and is used for international trade.
Zimbabwe’s Major Trading Partners
The latest available country-specific data shows that 93.4% of products exported from Zimbabwe was bought by importers in: United Arab Emirates (36.6% of the Zimbabwean total), South Africa (27.6%), mainland China (17.3%), Mozambique (3.4%), Zambia (1.9%), Belgium (1.5%), Indonesia (1.05%), Netherlands (1.04%), Vietnam (0.96%), Hong Kong (0.7%), United States of America (0.65%) and India (0.63%).
From a continental perspective, 59.8% of Zimbabwe’s exports by value was delivered to Asia countries while 35.4% was sold to importers in fellow African. Zimbabwe shipped another 4% worth of goods to buyers in Europe.
Smaller percentages went to customers in North America (0.71%), Latin America (0.064%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, then Oceania’s Australia and New Zealand only (0.008%).
Given Zimbabwe’s population of 16.2 million people, its total $7.43 billion in 2024 exports translates to roughly $440 for every resident in the southern African country. That dollar metric lags the average $450 per capita one year earlier during 2023.
Zimbabwe’s Top 10 Exports
The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Zimbabwean global shipments during 2024 at the 2-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Zimbabwe.
- Gems, precious metals: US$2.9 billion (38.3% of total exports)
- Tobacco, manufactured substitutes: $1.4 billion (19.2%)
- Nickel: $988.7 million (13.3%)
- Ores, slag, ash: $878.1 million (11.8%)
- Iron, steel: $347.3 million (4.7%)
- Salt, sulphur, stone, cement: $318.5 million (4.3%)
- Mineral fuels including oil: $216 million (2.9%)
- Sugar, sugar confectionery: $44.5 million (0.6%)
- Raw hides, skins not furskins, leather: $35.3 million (0.5%)
- Fruits, nuts: $34 million (0.5%)
Zimbabwe’s top 10 export product categories generated 96% of the overall value of Zimbabwean global shipments.
Gems and precious metals represent the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 663.1% from 2023 to 2024.
In second place for improving export sales were fruits and nuts, via a 24.7% upturn.
Zimbabwe’s shipments of ores, slag and ash posted the third-fastest gain in value, up by 19.5%.
The leading decliner among Zimbabwe’s top 10 export categories was the salt, sulphur, stone and cement grouping, recording a -65.5% year-over-year plummet.
At the more granular four-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, Zimbabwe’s most valuable exported products in 2024 was unwrought gold (34% of Zimbabwe’s total export revenues). In second place was unmanufactured tobacco including tobacco waste (17.9%), nickel matte and oxide sinters (13.3%), nickel ores and concentrates (6.4%), iron ferroalloys (4.5%), vermiculite and perlite (3.8%), miscellaneous ores and concentrates (3.3%), unmounted and unset diamonds (3%), coke and semi-coke (2.2%), then chromium ores and concentrates (2.1%).
Products Creating Zimbabwe’s Largest Trade Surpluses
The following types of Zimbabwean product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.
In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.
- Gems, precious metals: US$2.8 billion (Up by 26.5% since 2023)
- Tobacco, manufactured substitutes: $1.4 billion (Up by 8.7%)
- Nickel: $988.6 million (Down by -0.1%)
- Ores, slag, ash: $876.9 million (Up by 19.5%)
- Salt, sulphur, stone, cement: $167.6 million (Down by -79.4%)
- Iron, steel: $90.7 million (Down by -12%)
- Raw hides, skins not furskins, leather: $33.3 million (Down by -5.7%)
- Fruits, nuts: $25.2 million (Up by 20.2%)
- Coffee, tea, spices: $18.7 million (Down by -8%)
- Cotton: $12.4 million (Down by -60.4%)
Historically, Zimbabwe generates positive net exports in the international trade of gold, diamonds and platinum. In turn, these cashflows indicate Zimbabwe’s strong competitive advantages under the gems and precious metals product category.
Products Causing Zimbabwe’s Worst Trade Deficits
Zimbabwe racked up a -US$2.13 billion trade deficit for 2024, expanding by 8% from -$1.98 billion in red ink one year earlier in 2023.
Below are exports from Zimbabwe that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Zimbabwe’s goods trail Zimbabwean importer spending on foreign products.
- Mineral fuels including oil: -US$1.8 billion (Up by 9.1% since 2022)
- Machinery including computers: -$1.1 billion (Down by -5.7%)
- Cereals: -$922.6 million (Up by 103.9%)
- Vehicles: -$768.9 million (Up by 0.6%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: -$553.8 million (Down by -3.5%)
- Fertilizers: -$330.6 million (Down by -14.6%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: -$323.5 million (Up by 3.9%)
- Animal/vegetable fats, oils, waxes: -$279.5 million (Up by 2%)
- Articles of iron or steel: -$273.7 million (Down by -0.9%)
- Other chemical goods: -$242.2 million (Down by -0.6%)
Zimbabwe has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits for refined petroleum oils, electrical energy and petroleum gas under the mineral fuels-related product category.
Zimbabwean Export Companies
Not one Zimbabwean corporation ranks among Forbes Global 2000.
Wikipedia does list exporters from Zimbabwe. Selected examples are shown below.
- Border Timbers (forestry products)
- Colcom Foods Limited (meat processing)
- Cotton Company of Zimbabwe (cotton lint, cottonseed)
- Dairibord Zimbabwe Ltd (milk, other dairy products)
- Hippo Valley Estate (sugar)
- Sable Chemicals (fertilizer, ammonia nitrate)
- Tanganda Tea (tea, coffee)
- Zimbabwe Iron and Steel Company (iron, steel)
In macroeconomic terms, Zimbabwe’s total exported goods represent 8.6% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2024 ($86.2 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 8.6% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2024 compares to 15.4% for 2023. Those percentages suggest a relatively decreasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Zimbabwe’s total economic performance, albeit based on a short timeframe.
Another key indicator of a country’s economic performance is its unemployment rate. Zimbabwe’s unemployment rate averaged 8.55% for 2024, down from an average 8.76% in 2023 according to Statista.
Zimbabwe’s capital city is Harare.
See also Zimbabwe’s Top 10 Imports, Top African Export Countries, South Africa’s Top 100 Imported Consumer Products and Nigeria’s Top 10 Exports
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook, Africa: Zimbabwe. Accessed on September 9, 2025
Forbes 2024 Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on September 9, 2025
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on September 9, 2025
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on September 9, 2025
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on September 9, 2025
Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on September 9, 2025
Wikipedia, List of Companies of Zimbabwe. Accessed on September 9, 2025
Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on September 9, 2025
Wikipedia, Zimbabwe. Accessed on September 9, 2025