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This milestone not only underscores gold’s continued dominance in the national economy but also signals strong international demand and production resilience.
Nickel mattes followed closely, with exports surging from USD 98.72 million in April to USD 138.95 million in May. This strong performance comes at a time when nickel has surpassed lithium as the most valuable battery metal used in electric vehicles (EVs), according to a report by Adamas Intelligence.
Despite falling global prices for battery minerals and the rise of nickel-free battery chemistries, demand for nickel remains robust, and Zimbabwe appears well-positioned to benefit from this global pivot.
Ferroalloys also recorded steady growth, rising from USD 20.85 million to USD 25.98 million, adding further weight to the mining sector’s critical role in driving export earnings. These three mining commodities alone, gold, nickel mattes, and ferroalloys, accounted for nearly 75% of Zimbabwe’s export revenue in May, reinforcing the sector’s central role in foreign currency generation.
In contrast, non-mining exports such as tobacco declined sharply due to the seasonal closure of the auction floors, falling from USD 71.91 million to USD 35.78 million. Ferro-chrome also registered a minor decrease, slipping from USD 30.4 million to USD 29.9 million. This shift further tilted the export composition toward mining.
Overall, industrial supplies dominated Zimbabwe’s export profile, making up 91.9% of total exports. In addition to gold and nickel mattes, other notable contributors were tobacco (4.5%), other mineral substances (4.1%), and ferro-chrome (3.5%).
Zimbabwe’s export destinations remained heavily concentrated in a few key markets. The United Arab Emirates emerged as the top buyer, absorbing 51.1% (USD 237 million) of total exports, primarily gold.
South Africa accounted for 30.8% (USD 141.88 million), while China followed with 5.8% (USD 121.15 million), with a significant portion being nickel shipments. Combined, these three countries took in 88% of Zimbabwe’s exports in May.
Despite the robust mining-driven export performance, imports also surged, rising by 9.8% to USD 882.1 million in May from USD 803.7 million in April.
This increase was largely attributed to a spike in capital and consumer goods imports. Motor vehicles for goods transport jumped from USD 19 million to USD 34 million, while imports of heating and cooling equipment more than doubled from USD 12 million to USD 25.5 million. Other notable increases included soybean oil (up to USD 23.7 million), motor cars (USD 18.2 million), and rice (USD 17.3 million).
These gains in imports were only partially offset by declines in petroleum oils (from USD 16 million to USD 14.9 million), maize (USD 43 million to USD 31 million), and meslin wheat (USD 21 million to USD 15 million), reflecting shifting priorities in the import basket.
The overall import structure remained skewed toward industrial supplies (32%) and capital goods (20.5%), a sign of Zimbabwe’s ongoing reliance on foreign-manufactured inputs. The bulk of imports came from South Africa (34.8%), China (19%), Bahrain (7.3%), and the Bahamas (5.9%), collectively accounting for 67% of the monthly import bill.
As a result of these dynamics, the trade deficit widened to USD 154.8 million in May 2025, up 10.7% from USD 139.8 million in April. The persistent gap reflects how gains in mining exports, while substantial, are still being outpaced by the country’s growing import needs.
