Economic analyst, John Robertson, said there were many advantages to choosing local products over cheaper, inferior imported ones.
“The importance of sourcing products locally is to create jobs for our own people. Every time we import we are creating jobs elsewhere and increasing gross domestic growth in those countries.
“When we buy local we also create money for the government in the form of taxes to fix the economy, infrastructure, health and education,” Robertson said.
Local furniture retailer Pelhams recently said instead of focusing on cheap imported products it was now increasingly focusing on locally produced and appropriately priced goods of high quality.
An economist in Harare said buying things locally led to industrial and manufacturing growth. He said this would result in import substitution by stimulating local production, which would in turn lead to value addition.
“There will be pressure on industry to produce finished products rather than just raw materials,” he said.
The economist said producing locally would mean savings on foreign currency, which would then be used for other important social services in the country.
“Every country wants to be a net exporter and not a net importer. That means economic growth. That means the current account will go into surplus rather than deficit,” he said.
Post published in: Business