The shortage of consumer goods from formal wholesalers and retailers is partly due to ongoing anti-smuggling operations by a multi-sectoral taskforce, a senior official has stated.
The Ministry of Industry and Commerce is leading the taskforce, which includes ZIMRA, the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP), the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ), the Consumer Protection Commission, and other law-enforcement agencies.
George Charamba, spokesperson for the Presidency, commented on the recently promulgated Customs and Excise (Designated Deemed Smuggled Goods) Regulations, 2025.
These regulations require manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers to provide proof that customs duty has been paid for goods in their possession.
Charamba revealed that ZIMRA is currently holding 30-tonne loads of consumer goods sourced from South Africa, intended for smuggling into Zimbabwe. Charamba posted on X:
<blockquote>
What you may not know is that ZIMRA is holding 30-tonne loads upon loads of consumer goods sourced in SA and meant to be smuggled into Zimbabwe. These trucks belonged to different wholesalers and retailers.
The low stock levels we see in the formal market are partly related to management issues and partly to impounded contraband from the ongoing anti-smuggling operations. We know where we are going; there will be order in the market. Trust us!
</blockquote>
Over the weekend, ZIMRA Commissioner-General Regina Chinamasa said that ZIMRA impounded goods valued at approximately US$2.4 million and state warehouses are at full capacity with recovered goods.

Pindula News

ZIMRA is stopping people from smuggling goods into Zimbabwe, which is causing a shortage of items in stores. The taskforce includes different agencies working together to stop smuggling. The government is requiring businesses to show proof that they paid customs duty for their goods. ZIMRA has impounded a lot of goods from South Africa that were meant to be smuggled. The market will become more organized once the smuggling is stopped. ZIMRA has impounded goods worth $2.4 million and their warehouses are full. The government is working to fix the problem.

ZIMRA’s Smuggling Crackdown Blamed For Empty Shop Shelves

Around 580,000 children in Zimbabwe under 5 years of age are experiencing severe child food poverty, making them up to 50 per cent more likely to experience wasting, a life-threatening form of malnutrition, a new global UNICEF report has revealed.
The nutrition and feeding practices during early childhood significantly impact children’s survival, growth, development, and lifelong learning.
In Zimbabwe, hundreds of thousands of children, especially the youngest aged between six months and two years, do not have access to the minimum nutritious foods they need during the time in their lives when good nutrition matters most for their growth and development.
UNICEF Representative in Zimbabwe Nicholas Alipui said:
<blockquote>
Food insecurity among Zimbabwean children could further deteriorate in 2024 with the El Nino-induced drought that has caused above-average temperatures and below-average rainfall, with a ‘historic’ mid-season dry spell over the 2023/2024 agricultural season.
It is urgent to address child food poverty today to avoid more children being pushed into a life-threatening status of severe malnutrition.
</blockquote>
The UNICEF report says that children living in severe food poverty are up to 50 per cent more likely to suffer from life-threatening malnutrition.
In line with “Zimbabwe’s Nutrition Narrative”, the Government of Zimbabwe with UNICEF and other partners, is implementing activities, under the “Multi-Sectoral Food and Nutrition Security Strategy”, to improve children’s diet diversity and prevent all forms of malnutrition.
These initiatives aim to enhance the availability and accessibility of nutrient-rich foods within households.
They operate through community-based support programs called Care Groups, which connect caregivers to essential services in health, water, sanitation, hygiene, social protection, and agriculture. Said Dr Alipui:
<blockquote>
To scale up community-based nutrition activities, additional support is needed from the Government, development and humanitarian partners, national and international civil society and non-governmental organizations, and the private sector.
</blockquote>
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

580,000 Young Children In Zimbabwe Living In Severe Food Shortage - UNICEF

The Government has said it needs more time to investigate claims that basic foodstuffs are disappearing from supermarkets.
This comes after Mpopoma-Mzilikazi legislator Charles Moyo (CCC) asked what measures the government had put in place to curb the disappearance of basic commodities from supermarkets during a question-and-answer session in the National Assembly.
In response, the leader of government business in Parliament, Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi said the Ministry of Industry and Commerce will investigate to ascertain whether claims of the disappearance of foodstuffs from shops have substance or not. He said (<a href="https://www.newsday.co.zw/local-news/article/200022625/well-investigate-basic-goods-scarcity-govt">via NewsDay</a>):
<blockquote>
This is extremely specific and I need to interrogate it to have the relevant ministry analyse whether goods are disappearing and whether there is an impact that has happened because of the budget.
Once they do that analysis, we will be able to inform the government to make the necessary interventions.
I admit what he is saying may be very correct, but I cannot answer that without specific evidence that this has happened because of this and therefore, there is a need for an intervention.
</blockquote>
Earlier this week, the Government reimposed duty on cooking oil, maize meal, milk, sugar, rice, flour, salt, bath soap, washing soap, washing powder, toothpaste and petroleum jelly imports.
The Ministry of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion had allowed the importation of the aforementioned products duty-free since May 2023 in response to shortages and rapid price changes as suppliers resorted to forward pricing.
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

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