• Xintai plans to invest $200 million in a nitrogen fertilizer plant with 400,000 tonnes annual capacity.
• The company will start construction in June, with production scheduled for 2027.
• Zimbabwe seeks to reduce fertilizer imports, which reached about $331 million in 2024.

Zimbabwe is set to receive a $200 million investment from Chinese firm Xintai to build a nitrogen fertilizer plant, as the country seeks to reduce reliance on imports and strengthen its agricultural productivity.

Xintai, which operates in mining and metallurgy, will begin construction of the new plant in June, according to an April 14 announcement published on the X account of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce.

WE ARE OPEN FOR BUSINESS

Xintai (Palm River Resources) Pvt Ltd has expressed interest in investing US200 million towards establishing a fertiliser production plant with the capacity to produce both Urea (200 000 MT) & Ammonium Nitrate (200 000MT) fertilisers...1/2

— Ministry of Industry and Commerce (@Min_of_IC) April 14, 2026

The project carries an estimated cost of $200 million. The facility will produce 200,000 tonnes of urea and 200,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate annually. Project officials expect the plant to start operations in 2027.

Authorities have not yet disclosed the location of the industrial site. However, the government states that the project will strengthen domestic industrial capacity and gradually replace fertilizer imports. “This development will result in increased employment, improved local fertilizer production and better agricultural yields,” the Ministry of Industry and Commerce said.

Trade Map data shows that Zimbabwe imported nearly $331 million worth of fertilizers in 2024. Nitrogen fertilizers accounted for 51% of total imports, followed by compound fertilizers at 32% and potash fertilizers at 16%.

The International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC) reports that Zimbabwe’s apparent fertilizer consumption averaged 408,606 tonnes annually between 2014 and 2018.

Meanwhile, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that fertilizer use reached 30.8 kilograms per hectare of arable land in 2023. This level stands 69.23% above the sub-Saharan African average of 18.2 kilograms per hectare. However, it remains below the 50 kilograms per hectare target set under the Abuja Declaration on Fertilizers adopted by African Union heads of state in June 2006.

In this context, increased domestic fertilizer supply could play a key role in improving agricultural productivity and reducing import costs. In Zimbabwe, major crops requiring chemical fertilizers include maize, tobacco and cotton.

This article was initially published in French by Stéphanas Assocle

Adapted in English by Ange J.A de Berry Quenum