National Foods, the country’s biggest food manufacturer, has put US$6 million into making pasta in Zimbabwe. Now it is asking the Government to protect it from cheaper imports.
The Competition and Tariff Commission (CTC) says an early assessment shows enough evidence to warrant a deeper look into whether pasta imports are hurting local industry.
The numbers explain why Natfoods is worried. According to the Government Gazette published on Friday, pasta imports jumped 17.4%, from 49.5 million kg in 2024 to 58.1 million kg in 2025. Imports still account for about 87–88% of the market, with imported pasta selling for up to 17.8% less than locally produced brands.
Says the CTC: “The available evidence therefore provides a sufficient basis for the Commission to investigate whether imports have increased in such quantities, absolute and relative to domestic production, and under such conditions as to cause or threaten serious injury to the domestic industry, within the meaning of the Safeguard Regulations and the WTO Agreement on Safeguards.”
Most of the imported pasta is coming from Botswana, China, Egypt, Mozambique, Namibia and South Africa.
In 2025, NatFoods commissioned a plant able to produce 1,200 tonnes of pasta a month. This was part of a US$22.7 million investment in new pasta, biscuit and cereal plants. The project was within a broader US$50 million capital investment programme over five years planned by the company. The pasta is sold in the popular Primo and Better Buy brands. In the six months to December, pasta sales were up 33%.
The pasta plant fits neatly into Zimbabwe’s local wheat success story. The plant has provided a market to wheat farmers, who have delivered record harvests over recent seasons. NatFoods is Zimbabwe’s biggest wheat buyer and planned to contract 4,600 hectares of wheat this season.
CEO Mike Lashbrook said previously: “Let’s produce it locally. Let’s grow the wheat locally, mill it into flour and produce the pasta here.”
Now the company wants a provisional safeguard measure while the CTC investigates. This would mean temporary protection from imports while the CTC decides whether longer-term action is needed. The investigation should take six months, with a possible two-month extension, the Gazette says.
