By Patience Gondo
Zimbabwe has been ranked among the top 10 countries in the world that made the largest progress in foreign currency reserves accumulation after the country’s reserves grew from about US$276 million in April 2024 to over US$900 million by October 2025.
The milestone was confirmed during the 34th Post-Cabinet Press Briefing in Harare on Tuesday.
The World Bank placed Zimbabwe first among global economies that significantly strengthened their reserve buffers over the period.
It said the growth in reserves reflects firming macro-economic stability under the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1) and growing confidence in the local ZiG currency introduced in 2024.
The reserve build up comes after years of depleted buffers triggered by droughts, currency volatility and restricted access to international credit.
Zimbabwe’s reserves had fallen to critically low levels during the 2019-2020 period, forcing authorities to rely heavily on domestic resources and import controls. The latest rebound signals improved export performance, stronger mineral earnings, better management of foreign inflows and reduced pressure on the exchange rate.
The foreign reserves surge is also linked to strong domestic production, particularly in agriculture and mining.
Statistics provided during the meeting showed that wheat production reached over 600 000 metric tonnes in 2025 while tobacco exports exceeded US$1.06 billion as of 13 November. Manufacturing sector investment also increased, contributing to the rise in export receipts and import substitution.
The announcement came as Cabinet approved the National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2: 2026-2030), the next five-year economic blueprint aimed at accelerating progress towards becoming an upper-middle-income economy by 2030.
Under NDS1, GDP growth is projected at 6.6% in 2025, up from 1.7% in 2024, supported by agriculture recovery, mining expansion and renewed manufacturing activity.
Government said the increase in foreign reserves has stabilised the ZiG and strengthened market confidence following long-standing challenges with currency volatility.
The multi-currency system, operating alongside the ZiG, remains in place to support trade and financial sector stability.
In other decisions, Cabinet reviewed licences and fees in the energy sector as part of measures to reduce the cost of doing business.
The ZERA Solar Generation Licence was scrapped, the petroleum import licence was cut by 50%, and fuel retail licences for rural areas were lowered to encourage investment.
Cabinet also received updates on agricultural preparations for the 2025/2026 season.
Grain stocks at the Grain Marketing Board stood at 178 316 tonnes while ARDA contributed nearly 92 000 tonnes. Tobacco hectarage increased by 6% compared to the same time in 2024, reflecting expanded farmer participation.
The briefing further covered progress on rural industrialisation projects in Matabeleland South, where eight major ventures in agriculture, mining and agro-processing have created more than 5 000 jobs.
Government also updated the nation on the Youth Service in Zimbabwe Training Programme, where over 2 184 youths have been trained, with recruitment set to rise to 10 000 in January 2026.
Cabinet showcased reports on President Mnangagwa’s participation at the World Summit on Social Development in Qatar, his engagement with SADC during leadership transitions in Madagascar, and his attendance at Angola’s 50th Independence celebrations.
Vice President Chiwenga also represented Zimbabwe at the inauguration of Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan.
Cabinet said the unprecedented rise in foreign reserves the strongest in over a decade positions Zimbabwe for more stable economic planning under NDS2 and signals renewed capacity to weather external shocks while strengthening national currency stability.