Story by Bruce Chahwanda
A Dubai firm which is into horticulture and citrus products, Ali Gholami has sealed a deal to start operating in Zimbabwe from January next year.
The utilisation of land for horticultural and citrus production was topical when officials from a Dubai-based firm, Ali Gholani paid a courtesy call on Vice President General (Rtd) Dr Constantino Chiwenga at his Munhumutapa offices in Harare this Thursday.
The firm has been working with the trade promotion body, ZimTrade over the years in securing horticultural supplies from local farmers.
Briefing Journalists after a closed-door meeting, Ali Gholami chief executive officer, Mr Javed Gholami said they are satisfied with business prospects in Zimbabwe after visiting several farms across the country.
“We had meetings with the government on the possibility of investing in Zimbabwe and finally we are here. For the past three to four days, we have visited farms we are ready to sign an agreement with and then start production in January. You have a lot of capacity in terms of horticulture production,” he said.
The project is expected to create employment opportunities for locals and open the export market.
“A lot of people will be employed by the project, and this will boost the country’s exports considering that it will be mainly for exports,” said Mr Gholami.
In September this year, ZimTrade took 16 local firms to Dubai and visited Ali Gholami to get a better understanding of the quality of products needed in Dubai and other markets.
Zimbabwe’s exports are growing annually and the coming in of Ali Gholami is expected to play an important role in boosting the country’s exports and promoting productivity.
