Gold deliveries to Fidelity Printers and Refineries (FPR) improved by 54.57% in March 2021 to 1.8 tonnes from February’s 1.17t as weather conditions improved.
Mining activities across the country were affected by wet weather conditions that saw mining operations suspended after a number of mines collapsed killing miners.
It has also been argued that miners were not delivering gold to FPR due to late payment and unattractive prices.
According to Bloomberg Business, gold worth a staggering $1.5 billion is being smuggled out of the country every year.
Despite the rise in gold deliveries in March, cumulative deliveries for the quarter saw a 30.48% decline to 3.98t from the 5.72t achieved in the 2020 first quarter.
Gold is one of the major foreign currency earners for Zimbabwe, therefore, a decline is a cause for concern for the Southern African country.
Zimbabwe also gets foreign currency from diamond, platinum and agricultural products such as tobacco.
The tobacco selling season recently commenced with stakeholders expecting that this year’s produce to bring more forex because of its high-quality grade.
More: Pindula News; Financial Express