The Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) hangs in the
balance amid reports the ZITF Company will bar exhibitors from countries
affected by coronavirus (COVID-19) from attending this year’s trade
extravaganza in Bulawayo as part of efforts to help contain the spread of the
disease.
Revealing the decision to our Bulawayo Bureau last week,
ZITF Company acting general manager Mr Nicholas Ndebele said the firm was
working in consultation with the Ministry of Health and Child Care.
“The coronavirus infection will not affect ZITF as no
countries affected by the virus will be partaking at the event. We are not
taking the virus lightly,” said Mr Ndebele.
“We have placed possible measures to ensure that the event
will be safe as we have engaged the Ministry of Health and Child Care as well
as Zimra (Zimbabwe Revenue Authority) to assist us in implementing safety
precautions. They will be giving us updates on the virus and they will also
ensure that every delegation that comes is screened and is safe,” said Mr
Ndebele.
At least seven countries, namely Belarus, Botswana, Japan,
Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia and Tanzania have confirmed their participation.
Japan has been affected by the disease.
To date the disease has killed over 3 000 people from
mostly Asian countries and positive cases have also been confirmed in African
countries with the latest being South Africa and Cameroon.
The coronavirus has affected 90 countries and territories
around the world and one international conveyance (the Diamond Princess cruise
ship is docked in Yokohama, Japan) with 98 000 people.
Japan’s coronavirus numbers are on the rise even as its
government continues to implement safety measures. It was the second country to
report a confirmed coronavirus case outside China with the first case being
reported on January 16 2020.
Japan’s coronavirus cases were 360 as of March 6 along with
six deaths, while close to 700 cases have been reported among the guests on the
Diamond Princess cruise ship anchored at Yokohama Port.
China, where the epidemic started, was yet to confirm its
participation for this year’s exhibition in Bulawayo but it has been one of the
biggest participants at the ZITF for years.
The coronavirus outbreak has already hit small businesses
in Zimbabwe that import technological devices and clothing from China with most
having begun quantifying their losses due to shutdown of most factories in
China.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) representative in
Zimbabwe, Mr Patrick Imam, this week spelt out some of the areas that could be
affected by coronavirus in the country.
Mr Imam said while it’s still early to quantify the impact
of coronavirus on the Zimbabwe economy, there is need to start thinking about
the channels through which this shock may impact the country.
He said the risk is that the coronavirus outbreak had all
the ingredients of another exogenous shock, like the drought, which is not of
Zimbabwe’s making, yet has a significant negative impact on the economy.
Some of the key pillars of the economy that could be
impacted significantly include but are not limited to tourism, mining and
the tobacco sector.
“Tourism will be impacted negatively. This is both because
Chinese tourists will stop coming in large numbers for the coming months, and
given the current uncertainty, tourists from all around the world will be
scared to travel,” said Mr Imam.
On the mining sector, Mr Imam said assuming global economic
growth is temporarily reduced, Zimbabwe should expect commodity prices to
reverse from their recent upward trajectory.
“In addition to the price effect, there is some anecdotal
evidence emerging that even production of minerals may be impacted in Zimbabwe.
Miners need spare parts and equipment, much of it from China, and as production
in China has come to a temporary halt and the shipping industry is impacted by
delays, this may have temporary ripple effects on mining production here.”
He said authorities should be watchful of the tobacco
sector as the main buyers of Zimbabwean tobacco are the Chinese, “and the
coronavirus outbreak may impact both prices and shipment of tobacco for this
coming season”.
“Besides these direct effects, there are likely to be
indirect ones. Think about remittances, for instance. Let’s assume you have
Zimbabweans working in South Africa in the tourism sector, and that they are
laid off because tourism arrivals are down there. The result could be lower
remittances coming into Zimbabwe,” Mr Imam said.
Tobacco deliveries are expected to start in April.
Besides these measurable effects, there are psychological
ones that are harder to quantify but that may matter even more. “The economy
may slow down not simply because of the contagion effect caused by the
coronavirus, but from the fear of the unknown, leading to panic and herd
behaviour among companies and consumers, who stop producing or buying for
instance. But at this stage, one cannot yet quantify the effect.”
The ZITF Company has sold 94 percent of its exhibition
space, as preparations for this year’s edition of the trade showcase gather
momentum.
This year’s exhibition will run from the 21st to the 25th
of April under the theme “Augmenting Trade and Investment towards a Shared
Economic Vision”.
The exhibitor-mix is expected to be an economic
cross-section with exhibits from manufacturers (chemicals, agricultural
equipment and fast-moving consumer goods), services (health, information and
communications technology, finance, education and transport), medical
equipment, energy, tourism, printing and packaging, building and construction,
local and Central Government, among others.
The 60th edition of the ZITF which ran under the theme
“Propagating Industrial Growth through Trade and Investment”, was sold out,
forcing organisers to, for the first time since the trade showcase’s inception,
to pitch tents to accommodate more exhibitors.
The space made available for sale rose from a low of 47 612
square metres in 2016 to a high of 57 732 square metres in 2019. Sunday Mail
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