ZB Financial Holdings (ZBFH) is confident Zimbabwe's economy will expand in 2023 driven by expected strong growth in agriculture, mining, construction and diaspora remittances.

This is in line with Finance and Economic Development Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube's forecast last year that Zimbabwe's economy could grow by 6 percent this year, better than the previous forecast of 3,8 percent, thanks to a strong performance by agriculture and easing power shortages.

Commenting on the group's full-year results for the year to December 31, 2023, ZBFH chairman Pamela Chiromo, said the growth was partly due to the good rains received during the 2022/23 summer cropping season.

The forecast growth tallies findings in the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Ministry's first round of Crop, Livestock and Fisheries Assessment (CLAFA 1).

The report says most northern areas in the country received good rainfall, which enhanced crop conditions and improved production prospects.

Crop conditions in the northern and traditionally surplus-producing areas during the season fared better owing to favourable rainfall up to the second half of the 2022/23 season.

This resulted in a three percent increase in the maize crop planted area to 1 962 575 hectares from 1 903 668 in the 2021/22 season.

Of the 1 962 575 hectares put under the maize crop, 49 percent was planted in November 2022, 42 percent (December 2022) while the other nine percent was planted in January 2023.

This presents the highest-ever maize planted area since the 2 096 034 hectares put under the maize crop in the 2010-2011 season.

According to the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWSNET) the start of the 2023 harvests is expected to improve food security across Zimbabwe.

Framing inputs distribution, particularly basal fertilisers and seed, was also done on time compared to the prior season, which has enhanced prospects for a good harvest this year.

Similarly, other key sectors of the economy are expected to perform well on the back of effective policy interventions by the Government; these include gold production, especially in the small-scale mining sector, which presently accounts for more than half the national yellow metal output.

Mining is also expected to record a stellar performance driven by the lithium sector, where Zimbabwe now has two active producers following the commission of production at Prospect Zimbabwe's Arcadia project near Harare.

Zimbabwe was already the world's sixth-largest producer of lithium with only a single active mine.

Diaspora remittances are expected to continue on a growth trajectory. In the first quarter of 2023, the inflows reached US$420 million, which is 8,5 percent ahead of the US$387 million recorded during the same period last year.

Diaspora remittances are contributing significantly to Zimbabwe's development agenda, as a major source of investment financing and have been a key funding source for individual home construction and development of small-scale business enterprises.

"In the outlook, the domestic economy is projected to grow by 3, 8 percent in 2023, underpinned by growth in output from the mining, construction, agriculture, and accommodation (tourism) sectors.

"The envisaged growth is mainly premised on normal to above normal rainfall patterns and optimal distribution thereof, favourable international commodity prices, the continuance of tight monetary and fiscal policies to engender stability, as well as a continued slowdown in inflation, among other factors," said Mrs Chiromo as she forecast 2023 economic performance.

Not to be left out in the trail of factors to influence the said economic growth is the construction sector.

Zimbabwe is witnessing a boom in the construction industry spurred by activities in residential, infrastructure, public, and private sector developments in both urban and rural spaces.

Growth in the construction sector is currently reflected in the rising demand for building materials.

President Mnangagwa recently said his administration was on course to meet housing targets and the Government has set this through its many construction projects like highways, dams, irrigation facilities, and social infrastructure, including schools, colleges, clinics, and hospitals.

Copyright The Herald. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com)., source News Service English