News / National
Zimbabwe to slash regulatory fees for beef, dairy and food processing sectors
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The Government will soon gazette a revised schedule of regulatory fees for three key agricultural sub-sectors - beef, dairy and food processing - in a move designed to enhance the competitiveness of local businesses and attract greater investment into the agro-industrial space.
The reforms are part of an ongoing national strategy to improve Zimbabwe's ease of doing business, with an emphasis on eliminating excessive costs that have long burdened formal operators within the agricultural value chain.
Currently, players in the beef industry - including farmers, abattoir operators and meat processors - pay multiple overlapping fees for livestock movement permits, veterinary inspections, meat grading, and other services. These costs, often imposed by different regulatory agencies, have proven prohibitive and are blamed for driving some operators into the informal sector.
However, under the forthcoming reforms, Government plans to consolidate these charges and significantly reduce the overall financial burden on stakeholders.
The food processing sector - encompassing bakeries, canneries, beverage companies, and small-scale agro-processors - also faces steep regulatory expenses such as inspection fees, product certification, health and safety licences, and local authority permits, many of which are paid annually.
These compliance costs are especially onerous for start-ups and small businesses, discouraging formalisation and stifling growth.
Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube told The Sunday Mail that the reforms are progressing well, and the changes will soon be implemented through statutory instruments.
"We are making very good progress. The issue really is regulatory fees; it's not taxes. Taxes are collected by the Central Government through Zimra, while regulatory fees are collected by agencies in line with their regulatory mandates," Prof Ncube explained.
"So far, we have been focusing on the dairy sector, the food processing sector, but also the beef and meat processing sector. Very soon, you will see us gazette the new fees that will really lower these fees."
Prof Ncube added that some fees would be scrapped altogether, although the specifics would only be revealed in the upcoming legal instruments.
"I cannot front-load what we will implement through the issuance of an SI (Statutory Instrument), but some of them will be scrapped, for sure."
The minister confirmed that the current focus is on three high-impact sectors, but the reforms will be expanded to other areas of the economy in a phased approach.
"We are moving in stages. After these three sectors, we are going to move on to the next sectors. There is a lot of work to do, but we are on to it. We really want to lower the cost of these fees," said Prof Ncube.
The initiative follows a directive from President Emmerson Mnangagwa during the first Cabinet meeting of 2025, in which he instructed Government to swiftly eliminate excessive regulations and punitive administrative costs that hinder business growth.
President Mnangagwa stressed that taxes, licences, and permits must be restructured to facilitate economic development, not obstruct it.
In response, Cabinet established a high-level committee to review existing regulatory frameworks and fee structures, taking into account submissions from industry players who have long complained about unnecessary bureaucracy and cost burdens.
The reform programme aims to simplify licensing, reduce bureaucratic delays, and encourage investment and job creation across the formal agricultural economy.
Currently, businesses are weighed down by high tariffs and a complex web of permits and taxes imposed by various Government departments, a situation that has made formal operations financially unviable for many.
By lowering costs and cutting red tape, the Government hopes to stimulate economic activity in agriculture and agro-processing — two sectors central to Zimbabwe's broader development and industrialisation goals.
The reforms are part of an ongoing national strategy to improve Zimbabwe's ease of doing business, with an emphasis on eliminating excessive costs that have long burdened formal operators within the agricultural value chain.
Currently, players in the beef industry - including farmers, abattoir operators and meat processors - pay multiple overlapping fees for livestock movement permits, veterinary inspections, meat grading, and other services. These costs, often imposed by different regulatory agencies, have proven prohibitive and are blamed for driving some operators into the informal sector.
However, under the forthcoming reforms, Government plans to consolidate these charges and significantly reduce the overall financial burden on stakeholders.
The food processing sector - encompassing bakeries, canneries, beverage companies, and small-scale agro-processors - also faces steep regulatory expenses such as inspection fees, product certification, health and safety licences, and local authority permits, many of which are paid annually.
These compliance costs are especially onerous for start-ups and small businesses, discouraging formalisation and stifling growth.
Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube told The Sunday Mail that the reforms are progressing well, and the changes will soon be implemented through statutory instruments.
"We are making very good progress. The issue really is regulatory fees; it's not taxes. Taxes are collected by the Central Government through Zimra, while regulatory fees are collected by agencies in line with their regulatory mandates," Prof Ncube explained.
"So far, we have been focusing on the dairy sector, the food processing sector, but also the beef and meat processing sector. Very soon, you will see us gazette the new fees that will really lower these fees."
Prof Ncube added that some fees would be scrapped altogether, although the specifics would only be revealed in the upcoming legal instruments.
"I cannot front-load what we will implement through the issuance of an SI (Statutory Instrument), but some of them will be scrapped, for sure."
The minister confirmed that the current focus is on three high-impact sectors, but the reforms will be expanded to other areas of the economy in a phased approach.
"We are moving in stages. After these three sectors, we are going to move on to the next sectors. There is a lot of work to do, but we are on to it. We really want to lower the cost of these fees," said Prof Ncube.
The initiative follows a directive from President Emmerson Mnangagwa during the first Cabinet meeting of 2025, in which he instructed Government to swiftly eliminate excessive regulations and punitive administrative costs that hinder business growth.
President Mnangagwa stressed that taxes, licences, and permits must be restructured to facilitate economic development, not obstruct it.
In response, Cabinet established a high-level committee to review existing regulatory frameworks and fee structures, taking into account submissions from industry players who have long complained about unnecessary bureaucracy and cost burdens.
The reform programme aims to simplify licensing, reduce bureaucratic delays, and encourage investment and job creation across the formal agricultural economy.
Currently, businesses are weighed down by high tariffs and a complex web of permits and taxes imposed by various Government departments, a situation that has made formal operations financially unviable for many.
By lowering costs and cutting red tape, the Government hopes to stimulate economic activity in agriculture and agro-processing — two sectors central to Zimbabwe's broader development and industrialisation goals.
Source - Sunday News
