Zim to boost trade with Japan via Osaka 2025

Golden Sibanda

Zimbabwe has the perfect opportunity to boost trade with Japan when it joins more than 150 other countries for the six-month-long Expo 2025 Osaka to be held in Japan from April 13 to October 13, 2025.

Over 20 million visitors from across business and political divide are expected to grace the expo, presenting a rare chance to strike deals, exchange notes and build profitable and sustainable synergies.

Zimbabwe is targeting to attract at least three million visitors to its strategically located pavilion at the expo, allowing it to showcase its trade and investment potential, natural endowments, culture and history to the world.

The focus on growing trade and investment tallies with the Government’s policy of export-led growth, targeting annual export growth of 10 percent to US$7 billion by 2023 and US$14 billion by 2030.

Giving an update in Harare yesterday ahead of the event, Osaka 2025 commissioner general and ZimTrade chief executive Mr Allan Majuru said trade between Zimbabwe and Japan was still low, but primed for a huge jump.

Zimbabwe’s exports to Japan totalled US$680,83 million during 2023 while exports stood at US$20,47 million, according to the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade.

Zimbabwe’s exports to Japan include non-iron and steel slag, ash and residues, raw tobacco and stone, while imports comprise vehicles, machinery and chemicals.

According to Mr Majuru, the global exhibition offers the best chance for Zimbabwe to grow its trade and economic relations with Japan and the rest of the world.

“The main reason we are going there is to market the country for people to understand what Zimbabwe is all about, where we are coming from and where we are going,” he said.

This comes as Zimbabwe and Japan, which already enjoy a long history of cordial political and economic relations, have pledged to work together to boost trade and investment ties through initiatives in agriculture, infrastructure and technology.

At Expo 2025 Osaka, Zimbabwe will market the numerous opportunities in the country, including the huge potential for trade in heritage-based products, given Zimbabwe’s comparative advantage in producing the products.

Mr Majuru said the exhibition may be the catalyst to ramping up trade and investment ties with Japan, much the same way Expo 2020 Dubai, held in 2021 following delays due to the Covid-19 pandemic, did to previously lukewarm trade and investment relations with the United Arab Emirates.

After establishing consulate services in each other’s territories in 2018, Expo 2020 Dubai came at an opportune time for Zimbabwe.

The trade showcase saw the UAE quickly rise to become Zimbabwe’s second biggest trading partner after South Africa.

The country’s exports to the UAE totalled US$1,9 billion in 2023 from US$96 million in 2014 while imports from the UAE were valued at around US$227,9 million during the same period.

The trade between Zimbabwe and the UAE has grown exponentially over the years. Before 2018, the UAE was not even among the top 10 export destinations for Zimbabwe.

“It’s (Expo 2025 Osaka) a platform for us to market the country. Japan is the host country, so it is necessary that we be there as a country because the opportunities that Osaka offers are big and we hope to facilitate business (deals) during the whole period.

“Trade volumes are quite low, but as much as it is a challenge, we want to turn that into an opportunity using Osaka. If I may tell you, most of the petalite (lithium) that Japan is using is coming from here; they use it for the pottery.

“We want to make sure that they not only just source from Zimbabwe but also come and work with us,” Mr Majuru said.

He added that Japan also had interest in other sectors, including arts and crafts.

“The reason why the arts and crafts sector is so important to us are the livelihoods that can be improved if there is a tangible business that we do in Japan and other countries in that sector.

 “There are also issues of technology. Japan is well known for being a leader in technology,” he revealed.

Japan’s economy is known for its highly efficient manufacturing, advanced technology, and consistent trade surplus.

It is one of the world’s most developed nations and often ranked as among the most innovative countries.

Mr Majuru said Zimbabwe would take opportunities provided by Osaka 2025 to ensure innovations developed in the country are commercialised.

“We want to use the same platform to see how best we can commercialise those innovations,” said.

In addition, the exhibition would be used as a learning platform about Japan’s prowess in the area of technology, with Zimbabwe looking to adapt what is relevant to its requirements to drive growth in areas it has comparative advantages.

The country will seek to adopt various innovations developed by Japan, which may include how the Asian economic giant conducts its construction processes.

“It’s less of bricks and more of technology in terms of how they are doing their construction,” he said.

Mr Majuru expressed confidence that Zimbabwe would stage a very successful exhibition in Osaka, stressing that the setting up of the country’s pavilion was underway and progressing well.

Mr Majuru has already participated in the international meeting of participants, which he said included trainings relating to Japanese culture and language.

Mr Majuru pointed out that preparations for the expo had been flawless on account of strong support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade and the Government in general.

The preparatory process has also benefited from the experience gained from Zimbabwe’s participation at Expo 2020 Dubai. Mr Majuru said from the independent evaluation of the country’s participation at Expo 2020 Dubai, which highlighted key lessons learned from global exhibition.

Osaka 2025 will provide an opportunity for Zimbabwe to better tell its story to the rest of the world, with the ultimate goal of driving trade, investment, tourism, economic growth and a sustainable future.

“Normally, it’s better to tell your story because it may be understated, whether it’s good or it’s bad. So, we want to use Osaka as a platform to share our narrative and to tell people what Zimbabwe is.

“Culture is a very key aspect for us, and we also put a lot of effort into it. We have a lot of tools that we can use. We want to tell our story through culture, dance, and music.

“Even our artists, those that make the stone sculptures, we want them to be present there and show how they are made,” Mr Majuru said. The exhibition, he said, would present a perfect opportunity for the world to experience Zimbabwe firsthand, which would promote tourism.

Mr Majuru said Zimbabwe remained on course in its quest to maintain the target of 10 percent growth in exports, with 2024 being an exception due to the negative impact of the El Nino-induced drought.

Agriculture provides a significant amount of raw materials to the country’s manufacturing industry.

However, horticultural exports, which rely on irrigation, grew by 10 percent.

Mr Majuru said initiatives by the Government to climate-proof agriculture would reduce such drought risks, beginning this year.

He added that the Ministry of Industry and Commerce had put together a very good value-addition blueprint, which will complement efforts to grow exports through increasing volumes and opening new markets.