Zim Fresh Produce Suppliers Eye Botswana Market

The suppliers are exploring markets in South Africa, Botswana and Asia to fill the huge void left by Tesco, Europe's largest supermarket chain. The supermarket buys 50 percent of fresh produce from Zimbabwe. The business earns Zimbabwean suppliers an estimated US$2 million per year.

Last week, Tesco announced that it will no longer buy from Zimbabwe after a warning from the British Foreign Office. The Foreign Office has asked British companies with business interests in Zimbabwe to look carefully at their investments. A spokesman for Fresh Produce Producers Association of Zimbabwe said in Harare that Tesco's decision will hit its members hard. He said his organisation has been doing business with Tesco for decades and acknowledged that securing alternative markets will take time.