Zimbabwe plans to raise local bioethanol production to 600 million liters a year by 2035, nearly four times the current supply of about 155 million liters. The target, reported by several local media outlets on Wednesday, June 3, was announced by Anxious Masuka, the minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development.

 

The planned increase is part of a broader strategy to transform the country’s sugar industry. According to Masuka, the government wants to expand sugarcane production to support ethanol manufacturing and give the sector a larger role in the national economy.

 

The new Sugarcane Industry Development Strategy for 2026-2035, adopted in October 2025 by the Ministry of Industry, seeks to raise the area devoted to sugarcane for ethanol production to 24,000 hectares, up from 14,000 hectares today.

 

Harare also plans to support the sugar value chain through tax incentives, including duty exemptions on imported equipment and rebates for manufacturers on imported raw materials used to expand or build new sugar mills and ethanol plants.

 

According to the government’s NDS 2 strategy document, the incentives should boost the sector’s appeal and attract additional investor capital. Sugarcane is currently the main feedstock used to produce bioethanol in Zimbabwe. It is grown mainly in the Lowveld, in the provinces of Masvingo and Manicaland. The country produces an average of 3.5 million tons of sugarcane a year, but only about 2% of that volume is currently used for bioethanol, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

 

Beyond the government's production targets, Zimbabwe already has a regulatory framework that gives bioethanol a stable outlet in the domestic market.

 

The National Energy Policy, introduced in 2012, allowed the government to require fuel sold for vehicles to be blended with bioethanol. The blending rate was initially set at 10%. It now stands at 20%, though the level can vary depending on local supply.

 

Biofuels offer Zimbabwe a way to cut spending on fuel imports while creating more value within the sugar industry. That makes ethanol not only an energy issue, but also an industrial development priority.

 

The current global context could strengthen that case. Oil price volatility and supply chain disruptions linked to geopolitical tensions in the Middle East are creating more favorable conditions for investment in Zimbabwe’s emerging bioethanol industry.