THE Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) is set to release its annual capacity utilisation survey results next month amid indications the country’s manufacturing capacity utilisation is likely to further decline by 10% points to 30% this year.
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Every year the CZI undertakes a survey of the production capacity of the country’s manufacturing sector.
CZI president Charles Msipha told Southern Eye Business in an interview that the body was currently busy analysing findings of the survey.
“At the moment we are busy analysing the annual capacity utilisation survey and we are expecting to release the results by mid-October,” Msipha said.
CZI commissions the survey every year to establish the performance of the manufacturing sector in relation to capacity utilisation, utilities, access to finance and employment creation.
Capacity utilisation for the sector took off from 10% in 2008 to 30% in 2009, then 43,7% in 2010, 57,2% in 2011 before declining to 44% in 2012 due to the low performance of the economy.
This would be the third straight year of declining manufacturing capacity in Zimbabwe. Capacity fell to 44,2% in 2012 from 57% in 2011.
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Zimbabwean companies have in the past decade struggled due to a critical shortage of liquidity, increased foreign competition and low consumer demand.
Numerous companies heavily downsized while others closed. Statutory pension fund, the National Social Security Authority reports that 700 firms shutdown since 2011, costing up to 10 000 jobs.
At least 15 economic sub-sectors are surveyed, including clothing and textile, pharmaceuticals, grain and milling, oil, among other industrial manufacturing activities.
The 2013 CZI report showed key challenges that affected industry included working capital constraints, power and water shortages and high costs, ageing equipments and machine breakdowns and low domestic demand.
