Why Zimbabwe matters to SA’s agricultural exporters

Motheo Khoaripe speaks to Wandile Sihlobo about the importance of Zimbabwe to South Africa’s agricultural export market and why the neighbouring country deserves the same attention as major trading regions such as the Middle East and BRICS.

Listen to the interview in the audio player below.

Zimbabwe is emerging as a critical market for South African agriculture, with SA exporting about $1.2 billion worth of agricultural products to its northern neighbour in 2025.

Agricultural economist and Agbiz chief economist Wandile Sihlobo says Zimbabwe deserves far more attention from exporters than it currently receives.

The argument comes as South Africa looks to diversify agricultural markets, with total exports reaching a record $15.1 billion in 2025.

Sihlobo says the focus on major markets such as the Middle East, BRICS and the EU should not come at the expense of closer regional opportunities.

The wider SADC region accounted for about 38% of South Africa’s agricultural exports in 2025, underlining the importance of neighbouring markets to the sector.

Zimbabwe is particularly significant for maize, having accounted for 56% of South Africa’s maize exports during the 2024/25 marketing year.

For South African producers, deeper regional trade could provide a more diversified customer base while strengthening food-security links across Southern Africa.

Speaking to Motheo Khoaripe on The Money Show, Sihlobo’s message is clear: when South Africa talks about agricultural export growth, Zimbabwe and the broader African market should be part of the conversation.

“Zimbabwe is actually a major and important trading partner. What we send, for example to Zimbabwe a year in agriculture is worth about $1.2 billion dollars.”

– Wandile Sihlobo, chief economist – Agbiz

“Let’s manage the relations with our neighbors. Be careful of the narrative, but at the same time, of course not taking the foot of the break in thinking about diversifying another areas. But this is an important region for our prosperity as agriculture.”

– Wandile Sihlobo, chief economist – Agbiz

“We send also a range of products. You know, when you look at the basket, you will see that there’s maize, soybeans, a lot of processed food products, even bottled water, soybean oil, various seasonings and spices, animal feed, fruit juices.”

– Wandile Sihlobo, chief economist – Agbiz

Scroll to the top of the article to listen to the full interview.