Zimbabwe - Overseas Development Institute

h i g h l i g h t e d the divergence between the ex-factory cost of
production and the border p r i c e of competitive imports.
129. Some of these f i g u r e s do appear to be on the low side or
else somewhat out of date. For instance the Commercial Farmers'
Union argued i n l a t e 1986 that "urea i s p r i c e d i n Zimbabwe at
about 2.2 times the cost at which i t could be imported and s o l d
to our farmers" CFU, (1986:7).
130. See f o r instance Chavunduka (1982), UNIDO (1986b) and
Cochrane and Donoso (1987).
131. CFU estimate.
132. Imports of i n s e c t i c i d e s and d i s i n f e c t a n t s i n 1984 and 1985
averaged $25 mn.
133. There are, of course, exceptions. For instance i n November
1987, a $4mn s o p h i s t i c a t e d chemical plant, s i m i l a r to those
erected by the company i n 35 other countries was o f f i c i a l l y
opened f o r Hoechst (Zimbabwe) to manufacture a range of chemical
products both to replace imports and to tap at l e a s t the r e g i o n a l
export market. I n i t i a l l y the f i r m i s to produce t e x t i l e
chemicals, immediately saving the country about $1.5 mn a year i n
f o r e i g n exchange (The F i n a n c i a l Gazette, 19 June, 1987 and 20
November 1987) .
134. The commercial farming sector has about 17,000 t r a c t o r s of
which some 40% are over 11 years o l d , the maximum recommended
l i f e of a machine p r i o r to the cost of spares becoming excessivel
y high. See, for instance, Zimbabwe, Report on the Tractor and
Tractor Implement Operating Cost Survey f o r Large Scale Commerc
i a l Farming Units, Harare, The Farm Management Research Section,
Economics and Markets Branch, M i n i s t r y of A g r i c u l t u r e , October
1984.
135. Recent M i n i s t r y of A g r i c u l t u r e surveys show that the average
horse-power on these farms ranges from 60 to 70 per t r a c t o r .
136. The growth and e v o l u t i o n of Zimbabwe's c a p i t a l goods sector
has been researched and developed by Dr. Dan Ndlela of the
U n i v e r s i t y of Zimbabwe. See f o r example Ndlela (1985).