Year over year, the value of Zimbabwean imports accelerated by 34.3% compared to $4.96 billion for 2020.
Zimbabwe’s top 5 most valuable imported products are processed petroleum oils, nitrogenous fertilizers, soya-bean oil, blood fractions including antisera, and trucks. Added together, that quintet of major products represent over one-quarter (27.3%) of overall Zimbabwean imports during 2021.
Main Suppliers for Zimbabwe’s Imports
The latest available country-specific data shows that 87.6% of products imported into Zimbabwe were sold by exporters in: South Africa (42.8% of Zimbabwe’s global total), Singapore (13.8%), mainland China (12.1%), Mozambique (3.4%), Mauritius (2.9%), Zambia (2.7%), Hong Kong (2.5%), United Arab Emirates (2.2%), India (2.1%), United Kingdom (1.62%), Argentina (0.8%) and Russia (0.72%).
From a continental perspective, 55.2% of Zimbabwe’s total imports by value in 2021 were purchased from fellow African countries. Trade partners in Asia supplied 35.8% of Zimbabwe’s total imports while another 6.6% worth of goods originated from European nations.
Tinier percentages came from Latin America (1.1%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, North America (0.8%), and Oceania (0.4%) led by Australia.
Given Zimbabwe’s population of 15.5 million people, its total $7.6 billion in 2021 imports translates to roughly $490 in yearly product demand from every person in the southern African nation. That dollar metric outpaces the average $330 in average per capita imports one year earlier in 2020.
Zimbabwe’s Top 10 Imports
The following product groups, reported at the 2-digit Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) code level, represent the highest dollar value in Zimbabwe’s import purchases during 2021. Also shown is the percentage share that each product category represents in terms of overall imports into Zimbabwe.
- Mineral fuels including oil: US$1.4 billion (18.9% of total imports)
- Machinery including computers: $944.9 million (12.5%)
- Vehicles: $577.6 million (7.6%)
- Fertilizers: $441.3 million (5.8%)
- Pharmaceuticals: $416.5 million (5.5%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: $336 million (4.4%)
- Cereals: $335.3 million (4.4%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: $298.6 million (3.9%)
- Animal/vegetable fats, oils, waxes: $280.3 million (3.7%)
- Other chemical goods: $276 million (3.6%)
Zimbabwe’s top 10 imports account for 69.8% of the overall value of its product purchases from other countries.
Imported pharmaceuticals increased at the fastest pace from 2020 to 2021 thanks to a 120.7% advance.
In second place was the product category fertilizers via an 86% uptick, ahead of imported animal or vegetable fats, oils and waxes (up 63.6%) and imports of plastics both as materials and items made from plastic (up 53.6%).
Year over year, the lone declining category was cereals dragged down by a -36.2% reduction. The severest declining cereals were Zimbabwean imports of corn, wheat, and grain sorghum.
Please note that the results listed above are at the 2-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level. Information presented below is at the more granular 4-digit level.
Zimbabwe’s Top Fuel Imports
In 2021, Zimbabwean importers spent the most on the following 10 subcategories of mineral fuel-related products.
- Processed petroleum oils: US$1.2 billion (up 13.6% from 2020)
- Electrical energy: $152.1 million (down -1.2%)
- Petroleum gases: $68 million (up 88%)
- Natural bitumen, asphalt, shale: $8.9 million (up 206%)
- Petroleum jelly, mineral waxes: $6.8 million (up 89.1%)
- Petroleum oil residues: $5.2 million (up 38.5%)
- Coal tar oils (high temperature distillation): $2.6 million (up 252.7%)
- Peat: $1.9 million (up 58.8%)
- Asphalt/petroleum bitumen mixes: $1.8 million (up 165.6%)
- Coal, solid fuels made from coal: $461,000 (up 442.4%)
Among these import subcategories, Zimbabwean purchases of coal including solid fuels made from coal (up 442.4%), high temperature distilled coal tar oils (up 252.7%) then natural bitumen, asphalt and shale (up 206%) grew at the fastest pace from 2020 to 2021.
These amounts and the percentage gains within parenthesis clearly show where the strongest demand lies for different types of imported mineral fuels-related products among Zimbabwe’s businesses and consumers.
Zimbabwe’s Top Machinery Imports
In 2021, Zimbabwean importers spent the most on the following 10 subcategories of machines including computers.
- Sort/screen/washing machinery: US$127.1 million (up 104.2% from 2020)
- Heavy machinery (bulldozers, excavators, road rollers): $91.6 million (up 71.9%)
- Machinery parts: $56.2 million (up 19.6%)
- Spray/dispersing mechanical appliances: $52 million (up 43.8%)
- Computers, optical readers: $51.8 million (up 12.8%)
- Liquid pumps and elevators: $47.4 million (up 26.1%)
- Miscellaneous machinery: $40.7 million (down -7.1%)
- Centrifuges, filters and purifiers: $36.8 million (up 57.6%)
- Move/grade/scrape/boring machinery: $30.6 million (up 198.4%)
- Harvest/threshing machinery: $30.4 million (up 118.9%)
Among these import subcategories, Zimbabwean purchases of moving, grading, scraping or boring machinery (up 198.4%), harvesting and threshing machinery (up 118.9%) then sorting, screening or washing machinery (up 104.2%) grew at the fastest pace from 2020 to 2021.
These amounts and the percentage gains within parenthesis clearly show where the strongest demand lies for different types of imported machinery among Zimbabwe’s businesses and consumers.
Zimbabwe’s Top Vehicles Imports
In 2021, Zimbabwean importers spent the most on the following 10 subcategories of vehicles and related products.
- Trucks: US$194 million (up 31.5% from 2020)
- Tractors: $123.4 million (up 18.7%)
- Cars: $121.2 million (up 11.5%)
- Trailers: $39.8 million (up 13.5%)
- Automobile parts/accessories: $37.7 million (up 16.9%)
- Public-transport vehicles: $24.5 million (up 101.3%)
- Special purpose vehicles: $23.4 million (up 99.1%)
- Motorcycles: $6.7 million (up 96.7%)
- Bicycles, other non-motorized cycles: $5.1 million (up 281.9%)
- Motorcycle parts/accessories: $1.1 million (up 216.7%)
Among these import subcategories, Zimbabwean purchases of bicycles including other non-motorized cycles (up 281.9%), motorcycle parts or accessories (up 216.7%) then public-transport vehicles (up 101.3%) grew at the fastest pace from 2020 to 2021.
These amounts and the percentage gains within parenthesis clearly show where the strongest demand lies for different product subcategories of imported vehicles among Zimbabwe’s businesses and consumers.
Zimbabwe’s Top Fertilizers Imports
In 2021, Zimbabwean importers spent the most on the following subcategories of fertilizers.
- Nitrogenous fertilizers: US$251.1 million (up 127.3% from 2020)
- Fertilizer mixes: $114.7 million (up 40%)
- Potassic fertilizers: $67.7 million (up 55.9%)
- Phosphatic fertilizers: $7.1 million (up 789%)
- Packaged animal/vegetable fertilizers: $699,000 (down -1%)
Among these import subcategories, Zimbabwean purchases of phosphatic fertilizers (up 789%), nitrogenous fertilizers (up 127.3%) then potassic fertilizers (up 55.9%) grew at the fastest pace from 2020 to 2021.
These amounts and the percentage gains within parenthesis clearly show where the strongest demand lies for different types of imported fertilizers among Zimbabwean businesses and consumers.
See also Zimbabwe’s Top 10 Exports, Top African Export Countries, Top South African Trading Partners, Nigeria’s Top 10 Exports and Kenya’s Top 10 Exports
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook, Africa: Zimbabwe. Accessed on August 9, 2022
International Monetary Fund, Exchange Rates selected indicators (National Currency per U.S. dollar, period average). Accessed on August 9, 2022
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on August 9, 2022
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on August 9, 2022
The World Factbook, Africa: Zimbabwe. Accessed on August 9, 2022
Wikipedia, Zimbabwe. Accessed on August 9, 2022
