Zimbabwe’s fertiliser value chain continues to struggle under high production costs, regulatory bottlenecks, and infrastructure challenges, raising concerns about the country’s competitiveness compared to regional peers such as South Africa and Zambia.

Speaking to Zim Now, Industry and Commerce Parliamentary Portfolio Committee chairperson Clemence Chiduwa said that easing the cost of doing business is critical to restoring the fertiliser sector and reviving local manufacturing capacity.

“What is needed now to make sure that our value chains, especially the fertiliser ones, are back on track is to deal with the issue of easing the cost of doing business. This is exactly what government is doing, and we are confident that some of the reforms will filter through and support fertiliser companies, particularly Dorowa,” Chiduwa said.

Dorowa Minerals, which holds one of Zimbabwe’s most strategic phosphate deposits, should be a straightforward contributor to local fertiliser production, yet operational challenges persist. Chiduwa noted that the failure to fully utilise Dorowa reflects broader structural problems in the economy.

“Dorowa was supposed to be the easiest for us. If you go there, you simply take the phosphate rock, grind it and granulate it, but we are failing to do that. What we need is continued cost-of-doing-business reforms and the provision of adequate working capital,” he said.

Despite some improvement in manufacturing output, Zimbabwe remains a high-cost production centre. Chiduwa acknowledged that while capacity utilisation has been improving, competitiveness remains weak when benchmarked against regional peers.

“In terms of competitiveness, we are still very low compared to our regional peers such as South Africa. However, the positive development is that manufacturing is now leading in terms of contribution to GDP. Capacity utilisation is rising, but competitiveness remains a major issue,” he said.

Production costs driven by energy, utilities, financing, and regulatory compliance continue to undermine local manufacturers. “Zimbabwe is a high-cost centre in terms of production. These are the issues we must address. Working with the National Competitiveness Commission, we should be able to identify the key cost drivers and resolve them,” Chiduwa added.

Industry players point to regulation as a major drag on competitiveness. Zimbabwe’s fertiliser manufacturers face multiple layers of licensing, inspections, and compliance requirements, increasing operational costs and slowing turnaround times.

By contrast, Zambia has prioritised streamlined regulatory processes and incentives for fertiliser blending and agro-input manufacturing, while South Africa benefits from stable utilities, deeper capital markets, and predictable regulatory frameworks.

In Zambia, policy consistency and targeted incentives have attracted private investment into fertiliser blending plants, reducing import dependence and stabilising prices for farmers. South Africa leverages scale, reliable electricity, and efficient logistics to maintain lower per-unit production costs, giving its manufacturers a regional advantage.

Zimbabwe’s regulatory complexity and infrastructure gaps, coupled with operational challenges at legacy plants—such as outdated equipment, liquidity constraints, and unpaid debts—have made it harder for local producers to compete on price and volume.

“Some of the challenges include regulation and working capital constraints. Most of these companies are old and are still expecting payments owed to them. When we visited some buyers, we found that operations had closed. The main issue was electricity, followed by water supply problems,” Chiduwa noted.

In September 2025, the Mutapa Investment Fund secured a US$125 million facility from the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) to support the fertiliser value chain ahead of the 2025/2026 summer cropping season. The funding is intended to facilitate procurement of raw materials, improve local capacity, and reduce reliance on imports.

Industrial Development Corporation of Zimbabwe indicated that this facility, along with another allocated for a phosphate production plant at Dorowa, would help guarantee Zimbabwe’s self-sufficiency in fertiliser production.

Recent policy measures, including the removal of duty on fertiliser imports, are expected to provide short-term relief to farmers by lowering input costs. 

However, analysts caution that without parallel support for domestic manufacturers—such as affordable financing, reliable utilities, and regulatory simplification—the duty suspension risks entrenching import dependence rather than strengthening local value chains.