By Staff Reporter
IN a latest development Zimbabwe has gazetted endorsed regulations banning second-hand clothing imports which will fly in the faces of already struggling citizens with no capacity to purchase new clothes.
The latest regulations are enshrined under Statutory Instrument 59 of 2026, which only permits imports for permit holders in possession a valid permit for charitable purposes only.
The ban aims to revive the local textile and clothing industry, which has struggled against cheap imports, and to prevent the dumping of foreign waste.
However, market watchers believe that the latest ban will not generate much impact considering that the challenge of high electricity costs, wage bills higher than regional counterparts like Malawi, expensive raw materials make local products more expensive than imports.
The sector is also beset with old equipment with many manufacturers still relying on old machinery, which causes high operating costs and lower efficiency compared to foreign competitors further complicated by difficulties in securing funding for upgrading equipment and operating expenses, partly due to economic instability.
