By Kudzaishe Chimonera
Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Amon Murwira, has urged local manufacturing firm Treger Products to accelerate its expansion into regional markets, saying the country’s industries must move beyond serving domestic demand and compete across Africa.
Speaking during a tour of Treger Group’s manufacturing plant in Bulawayo, organised by ZimTrade, Murwira said Zimbabwe’s economic growth depends on exporting locally produced goods to regional and global markets.
He praised the company for investing in modern production systems and innovation describing knowledge and skills as the foundation of sustainable industrial development.
“At the end of the day, it is about the people and the knowledge they possess. A knowledge-driven economy is a real economy,” he said.
Murwira said Zimbabwe’s economic strategy now prioritises outward-looking production arguing that long-term growth cannot be achieved through reliance on the domestic market alone.
“To grow this economy, we must feed the world,” he said, adding that local industries had historically focused inward but must now target wider markets to generate wealth.
Executives at Treger told the minister that although the company exports some products to neighbouring countries such as Mozambique, it has yet to enter several key African markets including Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda.
Responding to the briefing, Murwira said the company’s production capacity suggested ambitions extending beyond Zimbabwe.
“The numbers you are showing reflect an organisation that wants to feed the region,” he said.
The minister also revealed that the government is establishing regional warehousing facilities for Zimbabwean goods to improve cross-border trade logistics.
The initiative will begin in Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo aimed at easing transportation and storage challenges faced by exporters.
According to Murwira, the warehouses will function as bonded facilities allowing Zimbabwean companies to store and distribute goods within regional markets while retaining ownership.
“To build trust in new markets, we must invest in logistics,” he said.
He warned that companies limiting themselves to domestic consumers risk stagnation.
“When we are inward-looking, the wheel turns, but it does not grow. Growth comes when we step beyond our borders,” he added.
Murwira encouraged Treger to take advantage of government trade facilitation programmes and position itself as a competitive African brand.
“It is in our national interest to see Zimbabwean products across Africa,” he said.
