eBusiness Weekly
Kudakwashe Mhundwa
HARARE – Zimbabwe`s milk output for 2018 increased 18 percent to 21 million litres from 17,8 million litres produced during the previous year, statistics provided by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe show.
According to the RBZ’s Quarterly Economic Review have milk output for the informal sector also increased by 7 percent in the last quarter of 2018 mostly driven by a cocktail of measures introduced by Government and private players to boost dairy production in the country.
“Milk output from the formal sector increased by 7 percent to 21 million litres in the fourth quarter of 2018. This was also 18 percent higher than the 17,8 million litres produced during the corresponding period in 2017.
“This largely reflected continued efforts by Government and producers to improve the dairy herd. The increase in milk output also dovetails with the thrust of the Zimbabwe Association of Dairy Farmers (ZADF) Strategic Plan (2018 to 2022), which aims to raise production levels to 130 million litres per annum by 2022,” said RBZ
The statistics reveal that fresh milk output surged by 13.6 percent in 2018, compared to the 2017 output levels.
Zimbabwe has for more than a decade failed to produce enough milk and has resorted to importing from South Africa, losing foreign currency.
High production costs such as electricity, labour, stock feeds and chemicals have been the major stumbling block to the full recovery of the dairy industry.
However, Government has launched the National Command Dairy Programme which is aimed at revitalisation of the sector.
Under the programme heifers would be availed to farmers who had the capacity to partake in dairy farming.
