RBZ measures hit car imports

Companies that import second-hand cars to Zimbabwe are feeling the pinch of the central bank's measures to restrict the importation of non-essential products, with indications showing a decline in the volume of imported vehicles.

In May, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe came up with a four-tier import priority list for the efficient use of foreign exchange resources, with a bias towards supporting the productive sectors of the economy and reducing the import bill.

The two main second-hand car export companies into the country are Japan-based BeForward and SBT Japan.

A source at BeForward yesterday said that the company was advising customers to register with a local bank [name supplied], whose processing time for payments was faster than other financial institutions.