HARARE, April 29 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwe's trade deficit widened to 143 million U.S. dollars in March, up from 89.7 million dollars in February, according to the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency on Wednesday.
The latest trade update shows that exports rose to 932 million dollars in March from 874 million dollars in the previous month, while imports surged to 1.075 billion dollars from 963 million dollars in February.
Industrial products accounted for 94.2 percent of March exports. Semi-manufactured gold led the top 10 export products at 45.8 percent, followed by nickel mattes at 21.9 percent and tobacco at 14.3 percent. The United Arab Emirates was the primary export destination, claiming 46.4 percent of earnings, followed by South Africa and China.
On the import side, industrial supplies constituted 34.1 percent of goods, followed by capital goods at 23.3 percent and fuel and lubricants at 18.0 percent. South Africa remained the largest source of imports with a 38.2 percent share, followed by China at 22.1 percent. ■