{"id":87376,"date":"2023-11-26T20:31:41","date_gmt":"2023-11-26T18:31:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/zimbabwes-economic-challenges-threaten-emergent-blueberry-sector"},"modified":"2023-11-26T23:43:46","modified_gmt":"2023-11-26T21:43:46","slug":"zimbabwes-economic-challenges-threaten-emergent-blueberry-sector","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.cc\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/zimbabwes-economic-challenges-threaten-emergent-blueberry-sector","title":{"rendered":"Zimbabwe\u2019s Economic Challenges Threaten Emergent Blueberry Sector"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. <\/strong><\/span>Zimbabwe\u2019s blueberry production, one of the country\u2019s fastest-growing crops, is under threat from a currency crisis and high borrowing costs, the Horticultural Development Council (HDC) has said.<\/p>\n

HDC is a non-profit, membership-driven organisation in the export horticultural industry.<\/p>\n

According to HDC, Zimbabwe doubled its blueberry production to 7 000 metric tonnes this year.<\/p>\n

The country\u2019s climatic conditions allow high yields from open-field planting and early delivery into export markets.<\/p>\n

However, plantings, which have expanded by nearly 800 percent to 575 hectares since 2018, stagnated this year as farmers grappled with high borrowing costs and the impact of a volatile economic climate. Reuters quoted HDC as saying:<\/p>\n

There were no significant new blueberries in 2023 as growers recovered from a tough 2022. An additional 100 hectares is anticipated only in 2024.<\/p>\n

The HDC said high interest rates and limited access to long-term financing are negatively affecting blueberry farmers who only receive 75 percent of their export earnings in United States dollars.<\/p>\n

The farmers are also seeking income tax holidays, a removal of import duty for key inputs and a reduction in land levies to promote the industry which is still in its infancy. Said HDC:<\/p>\n

Unless policy issues are resolved, this promising industry risks stagnation and Zimbabwe will miss out on a strong opportunity to position itself as a leader on the global stage.<\/p>\n

According to EastFruit<\/b>, Zimbabwe\u2019s blueberry exports are currently growing faster than any other country in the world.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Zimbabwe<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe\u2019s blueberry production, one of the country\u2019s fastest-growing crops, is under threat from a currency crisis and high borrowing costs, the Horticultural Development Council (HDC) has said. HDC is a non-profit, membership-driven organisation in the export horticultural industry. According to HDC, Zimbabwe doubled its blueberry production to 7 000 metric tonnes this […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":87374,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,6],"tags":[1493,2189,10829,15780,15793,15792,10830,19],"class_list":{"0":"post-87376","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-all-news","8":"category-economy","9":"tag-africa-press","10":"tag-africa-press-zimbabwe-2","11":"tag-blueberries","12":"tag-blueberry","13":"tag-hdc","14":"tag-horticultural-development-council","15":"tag-horticulture","16":"tag-zimbabwe"},"yoast_head":"\nZimbabwe\u2019s Economic Challenges Threaten Emergent Blueberry Sector - zimbabwe<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Zimbabwe\u2019s blueberry production, one of the country\u2019s fastest-growing crops, is under threat from a currency crisis and ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/zimbabwes-economic-challenges-threaten-emergent-blueberry-sector\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Zimbabwe\u2019s Economic Challenges Threaten Emergent Blueberry Sector\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Zimbabwe\u2019s blueberry production, one of the country\u2019s fastest-growing crops, is under threat from a currency crisis and ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/zimbabwes-economic-challenges-threaten-emergent-blueberry-sector\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"zimbabwe\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-11-26T18:31:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-11-26T21:43:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/sites\/14\/2023\/11\/sm_1701018615.23529.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"723\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"542\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/zimbabwes-economic-challenges-threaten-emergent-blueberry-sector\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/zimbabwes-economic-challenges-threaten-emergent-blueberry-sector\",\"name\":\"Zimbabwe\u2019s Economic Challenges Threaten Emergent Blueberry Sector - 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