By Johnson Siamachira
Harare, (New Ziana) – Zimbabwe is positioning its membership and incoming chairmanship of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) as a platform for expanding exports, cutting the cost of cross-border trade and attracting investment, officials have said.
The opportunity comes as Zimbabwean manufacturers, farmers and traders seek markets beyond the country’s relatively small domestic economy, while the government pushes industrialisation, value addition and export diversification.
Zimbabwe will host the 25th COMESA Heads of State and Government Summit on October 22, 2026, and take over the rotating chairmanship of the trading bloc from Kenya.
The leadership role gives the country greater influence over the regional trade agenda, but its bigger economic significance will depend on whether Zimbabwean companies convert preferential market access into sustained exports and regional production networks.
COMESA gives Zimbabwean businesses preferential access to markets across Eastern and Southern Africa while initiatives such as the simplified trade regime, electronic certificates of origin and digital customs systems seek to reduce the paperwork, delays and costs that have historically discouraged regional commerce.
For an economy that needs to increase exports and earn foreign currency, the bloc offers a ready-made regional market — but Zimbabwe must become more competitive to fully exploit it.
COMESA, which evolved from the Preferential Trade Area established in 1981, became the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa in 1994.
Its Free Trade Area took effect in 2000, initially involving nine countries, including Zimbabwe. The arrangement provides duty-free treatment for qualifying goods traded among participating countries, subject to rules of origin.
The Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) says goods originating from COMESA member states can enter at preferential duty rates when traders meet the applicable rules and provide the required certificates of origin.
Zimbabwean exporters must also register their goods and businesses with ZIMRA to claim preferential treatment.
For small businesses, COMESA’s Simplified Trade Regime offers another practical benefit. Traders exporting qualifying goods valued at up to US$2,000 per consignment can use simplified customs documentation and certificates of origin. The system targets some of the administrative and clearance costs that disproportionately affect small-scale cross-border traders.
Digitalisation is now extending those gains. COMESA launched its electronic Certificate of Origin in November 2024, and by April 2026 Zimbabwe was among five member states implementing the system. The electronic process is designed to improve verification, reduce transaction costs and shorten clearance times.
ZIMRA’s 2025 annual report says Zimbabwe successfully launched the COMESA electronic Certificate of Origin platform as part of its broader customs modernisation programme. The authority said the system improves data exchange among member states and supports trade facilitation.
The economic opportunity is significant. COMESA recorded about US$14 billion in intra-regional exports in 2024, while exports from the bloc to the world reached about US$202 billion.
Zimbabwe already has products capable of competing in those markets. COMESA identifies tobacco and horticulture among the country’s major exports, alongside cotton, sugar, seeds, maize, small grains and oilseeds. Manufactured exports include ferro-alloys, clothing, metal products, chemicals, plastics and cotton lint.
But the numbers also expose the scale of the challenge.
COMESA data shows Zimbabwe’s intra-COMESA exports remain relatively modest compared with some regional economies. The bloc’s 2021 data, for example, showed Zimbabwe’s exports to COMESA falling sharply that year, highlighting the gap between having preferential access and actually exploiting it.
That gap makes industrial competitiveness critical.
Buy Zimbabwe chairman Munyaradzi Hwengwere has argued that the country’s domestic market of roughly 17 million people cannot provide sufficient scale for sustained industrial expansion.
“You only succeed when you are given access to bigger markets,” Hwengwere said, describing COMESA as a critical platform for Zimbabwean products to reach African consumers.
Industrialists similarly see the bloc as an avenue for expanding manufacturing, value addition and beneficiation rather than continuing to export predominantly raw commodities.
The digital trade agenda could also help Zimbabwe overcome its landlocked position. COMESA’s electronic Single Window programme aims to allow traders to submit documentation through one platform instead of dealing separately with multiple agencies. Zimbabwe is among 15 member states implementing the system.
Zimbabwe has also strengthened its own trade infrastructure. ZIMRA says its electronic Single Window is designed to streamline import, export and transit procedures, while modernisation at Beitbridge Border Post and planned upgrades at other border posts seek to improve cargo movement.
The country’s COMESA chairmanship, therefore, arrives at a crucial moment. Beyond diplomatic prestige, Zimbabwe has an opportunity to push for lower trade costs, stronger regional value chains and better implementation of existing trade agreements.
The test, however, will be whether factories increase production, farmers meet export standards and local businesses consistently penetrate regional markets.
COMESA can open the door. Zimbabwean competitiveness will determine how far its businesses walk through it.
New Ziana
