UK Buyers Get First-Hand Look at Zimbabwe’s Growing Horticulture Export Secto

Zimbabwe’s horticulture sector is gaining fresh international attention as four United Kingdom fresh produce trading companies and importers visit farms across the country to explore new sourcing opportunities and build direct commercial relationships with local growers.

The buyer mission, running from 26 September to 2 October 2026, is taking international buyers to farms in Mashonaland East, Mashonaland West, Mashonaland Central and the Midlands provinces, where producers are growing a range of export-oriented crops including peas, blueberries, citrus and other fresh produce.

The visit is part of the Making Trade Happen (MTH) project, funded by the UK Government and implemented by the International Trade Centre (ITC), and follows a successful trade mission held in Zimbabwe in March.

Rather than limiting discussions to boardrooms, the current mission is giving UK buyers an opportunity to see production conditions first-hand, meet farmers and assess the capacity of Zimbabwean businesses to supply international markets.

Discussions during the farm visits are focusing on key commercial considerations such as quality standards, production volumes, seasonality, harvesting practices, supply schedules, consistency and export readiness.

Zimbabwe’s horticulture offering includes fine beans, mangetout, sugar snap peas, chillies, blueberries, avocados, oranges and other citrus fruits, with some producers also targeting growing demand for organic produce.

The mission comes as Zimbabwean horticultural exporters seek to take advantage of preferential access to the UK market under the Economic Partnership Agreement between Eastern and Southern African countries and the United Kingdom (ESA-UK EPA). Eligible Zimbabwean products can enter the UK market duty-free and quota-free, creating opportunities for producers capable of meeting international quality and supply requirements.

For farmers and agribusinesses, the direct engagement with international buyers provides an opportunity to better understand what overseas markets require while demonstrating Zimbabwe’s capacity to produce and supply fresh produce at commercial scale.

The expansion of horticulture exports also aligns with Zimbabwe’s broader economic development objectives, including the National Development Strategy II (NDS II) for 2026–2030, particularly in areas of export growth, employment creation and development of agricultural value chains.

The UK mission will be followed by another major international market opportunity in October.

From 6 to 8 October, Zimbabwean businesses supported by the Making Trade Happen project, including some participants in the UK mission, will travel to Madrid, Spain, for the Fruit Attraction trade fair.

The event will give Zimbabwean producers an opportunity to showcase their horticultural products to buyers from Europe and other international markets while exploring additional commercial partnerships.

For Zimbabwe’s growers, the sequence of farm visits and international trade engagement represents a shift towards connecting production more directly with global markets.

As international buyers move through farms in Mashonaland East, Mashonaland West, Mashonaland Central and the Midlands, the focus is increasingly moving from simply growing for export to building the quality, consistency, scale and commercial relationships required to compete in international fresh produce markets.