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Zimbabwe restricts basic goods imports, mainly from South Africa

Xinhua, June 24, 2016 Adjust font size:

Zimbabwe has restricted importation of basic goods mainly from South Africa to stem outflow of scarce U.S. dollars and boost local companies' production capacity.

Industry and Commerce Minister Mike Bimha announced the new import rules in a statutory instrument gazetted June 17.

The minister said the new rules were aimed at curbing inflow of goods that are manufactured locally in order to boost the production capacity of companies that is currently hovering at around 35 percent.

"The intended purpose is not to ban the importation of those listed products, but to regulate them. The importation of the listed products will be authorized upon production of a valid import license issued by the Minister of Industry and Commerce," the minister said in a statement Thursday.

He said the government's move to restrict imports to only those in short supply was also aimed at avoiding shortages on the local market.

Some of the products that now require a special import license include food stuffs such as potato crisps, bottled water, baked beans, salad cream, peanut butter, yoghurt, doors, window frames and a variety of plastic pipes.

Zimbabwe is facing a serious cash crunch since March and authorities plan to introduce bond notes in October to alleviate the cash shortages. Endit