Mange tout and sugar snap peas exports from Zimbabwe to the United Kingdom and European union are in their second month, with exporters taking advantage of premium off-season prices in international markets.
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The country earns more from its peas niche market between April and October when international market prices surge due to low global supply from major producers like Guatemala and Peru.
Zimbabwe produces high-quality mange tout and sugar snap peas, mainly for winter export to Europe (May–August) to leverage favourable market windows.
Primarily grown in regions 1 and 2, these legumes require cool weather, well-drained sandy loam soils, and intensive, often irrigated, production methods, with yields often exceeding per hectare for top producers.
EU Ambassador to Zimbabwe Katrin Hagemann recently visited a local packhouse, Kuminda, to observe the aggregation, grading and cold-chain exporting of mange tout, sugar snap peas and blueberries to the EU and UK.
Kuminda is a Zimbabwe-headquartered multi-national company whose main goal is to empower African farmers by linking them with international markets.
The company works with more than 5 000 smallholder farmers, most of them women.
Under the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the EU, Zimbabwean mange tout and sugar snap peas enter the EU market duty and quota-free.
“That means more value stays here in Zimbabwe. The EU is Zimbabwe’s largest buyer of horticultural produce, and we are committed to deepening that partnership.
“From smallholder plots around Zimbabwe to a supermarket shelf in Europe; that journey is real and Kuminda is making it happen,” said the EU on their official X page.
The EPA has opened doors for increased exports, job creation and value chain growth.
“EU-Zimbabwe trade has grown by over 30 percent over the past three years and Zimbabwe continues to maintain a trade surplus in horticulture,” said the EU.
The EU said blueberries pioneered by smallholder farmers working with Kuminda arrive on EU shelves up to three weeks before competitors from Peru and Chile.
“That is a natural advantage that Zimbabwean farmers are now capitalising on,” said the EU.
The EU bloc’s partnership with Zimbabwe was delivering tangible economic benefits, with trade reaching US$919 million last year.
Despite Zimbabwe maintaining a positive trade balance of US$328 million, only about 200 local companies are currently exporting to the EU.
To unlock this potential, the EU is set to roll out a €7,8 million capacity-building programme targeting the horticulture sector to support more exporters.
In addition to trade, the EU has extended more than US$100 million in financing to local banks over the past five years through institutions such as the European Investment Bank and Proparco.
Export Produce Growers Association of Zimbabwe (EPGAZ) chairman and Kuminda chief executive, Mr Clarence Mwale, said the visit by the EU ambassador was significant.
Mr Mwale said pea exports had been going on since the beginning of April.
The Horticultural Development Council’s (HDC) September 2025 update reported that around 5 000 tonnes of mange tout and sugar snap season were exported, with smallholder farmers contributing between 30 and 40 percent.
The council, however, was worried that around 30 percent of peas do not meet the export grade, highlighting the need for processing options, such as freezing, livestock feed or other uses, to cut waste.
Meanwhile, statistics from the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStats) show that earnings from fresh peas exports rose 15 percent from US$2 909 962 in 2023 to US$3 335 901 in 2024, and dropped 13 percent to US$2 890 122 last year.
This was caused by a 19 percent decline in average price to US$0,95 last year from US$1,17 per kg, though in volume terms it rose seven percent to 3 052 747 last year from 2 861 744 kilogrammes in 2024.-herald
