Zim Trade, the national trade development and export promotion organization, is leading a delegation of clothing, textiles and leather companies at the largest trade exhibition, Source Africa being held at Cape Town, South Africa. It was important for Zimbabwe to participate in the conference in order to register its presence on the global market, said Head of delegation, who is also ZimTrade’s operations director Allan Majuru.

Zimbabwe is lagging behind in the apparels sector due to constraints faced in the sector particularly from the early 2000s. Participating in such exhibitions would show that Zimbabwe is still a potential source of good quality clothing, textiles and leather products.

When Zimbabwe started coming to Source Africa four years ago, a lot of players were surprised that the industry was still surviving and even now people are still surprised that there is a thriving clothing sector in Zimbabwe. They are at Source Africa to correct the negative perception.

According to ZITMA chairman Admire Masenda, the exhibition was a chance to market, promote and grow confidence of the Zimbabwean products.

By consistently coming to the expo, they are giving buyers confidence about the Zimbabwean industry. It also allows sector players to realign their products to global trends. They get a chance to produce what the market wants.

Mr Masenda said that this would help boost exports at a time when the recovery of the economy is hinged on export-led growth.

Zimbabwe’s exports of clothing to South Africa have been on an upward trend, having increased by 45.8 percent from 2012 to 2014. Zimbabwean clothing articles enjoy preferential treatment into South Africa under the Zimbabwe-South Africa Bilateral Trade Agreement.

Some of the companies exhibiting at Source Africa include Bravette Manufacturing (Truworths), Throttle Clothing, Main Protective Clothing and Samuneti Leathers. There are also representatives from Zimbabwe Clothing Manufacturers Association (ZCMA) and Zimbabwe Textiles Manufacturers Association (ZITMA).