Zimbabwe agriculture surges to US$10.3 billion in 2025
Zimbabwe’s agriculture sector reached 10.3 billion dollars in 2025 after growing 73.9 percent from 5.6 billion dollars the previous year. Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube told a Zanu PF conference that better rainfall helped tobacco, wheat, and livestock production recover from earlier drought conditions. Food security rose from 44 percent to 85 percent of households through irrigation improvements and government farming programs.
Tobacco output hit a record 355 million kilograms, worth 1.17 billion dollars, compared with 216 million dollars in 2017. China bought most of the crop as yields climbed from 1.7 tonnes per hectare in 2024 to 2.5 tonnes per hectare. Wheat production jumped 538 percent to 600,045 metric tonnes from 94,000 metric tonnes in 2019 and exceeded the 360,000-tonne national requirement. Blueberry exports reached 8 million kilograms after rising 351 percent since 2017.
Livestock numbers increased to 5.74 million animals in 2024 from 5.2 million in 2017 as the government restored dipping facilities. Milk output climbed 72.7 percent to 114.7 million liters and should reach 137 million liters this year. Egg production was forecast at 108 million dozen in 2025 compared with 87 million dozen in 2024. Cereal production totaled 2.9 million metric tonnes as rainfall stayed normal to above normal levels.
