By Chris Takudzwa Muronzi
HARARE, July 31 (Reuters) – Zimbabwe is on track to achieve a forecasted 6% economic growth in 2025 helped by good agricultural output and strong commodity prices, Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube said on Thursday.
The Southern African country’s economy has shown signs of recovery in the first half of the year following a severe drought and currency turbulence in 2024 that pushed GDP growth down to 2%.
“Given the positive economic developments during the period January to June, we are confident that the projected economic growth of 6% alluded to in the 2025 National Budget is achievable,” Ncube told parliament in a mid-year budget review.
“All sectors of the economy are expected to record positive growth in 2025, mainly on account of a favourable agriculture season, improved electricity generation, stable exchange rate and inflation rate,” he said.
He did not give an update on the budget deficit, which was seen at 0.4% of gross domestic product in 2025 during the budget forecast last November.
Zimbabwe’s fiscal position remains under strain from grain imports, drought relief spending and the public sector wage bill. While the government has collected more revenue than in the same period last year, analysts say containing the deficit may prove difficult without new fiscal measures.
The local currency, the ZiG, launched in April 2024 to replace the Zimbabwe dollar, has largely remained stable against the U.S. dollar but is still overshadowed by widespread use of the dollar in everyday transactions.
Ncube reiterated the government’s commitment to the gold-backed unit and said the currency had benefited from tight monetary and fiscal policies.
(Reporting by Chris Takudzwa Muronzi; Editing by Nellie Peyton)
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