HARARE, June 8 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwe received 180 million U.S. dollars in diaspora remittances through formal channels during the first quarter of 2017, down from 193 million in the corresponding period last year.
"The decline in diaspora remittances is partly attributed to the sluggish performance of the global economy as well as errors and omission arising from conduct of remittances through informal channels," the Ministry of Finance said in its 2017 first quarter treasury bulletin released Thursday.
The ministry said overall, remittances were projected to reach 1.2 billion dollars in 2017, up from 870 million dollars in 2016.
Diaspora remittances have become a major source of foreign currency for Zimbabwe in recent years as export performance remains sluggish.
According to the ministry, Zimbabwe's exports increased by 16 percent to reach 723.8 million in the first quarter of 2017, compared to 625.2 million realized in the corresponding period in 2016.
The major exports included tobacco at 203 million, gold 182 million, ferro-chrome 84 million and nickel 85 million dollars.
South Africa remained the biggest trading partner, with exports worth 561 million dollars being recorded while Mozambique was the second, recording 87 million worth of exports.
Imports in the first quarter stood at 1.34 billion dollars compared to 1.30 billion recorded in the corresponding period in 2016, representing a 3 percent increase.
Major imports included fuels and grains with fuel imports standing at 293 million dollars, down from 340 million imported in the corresponding period in 2016.
The top source countries of imports were South Africa (519 million), Singapore (279 million), China (122 million) and Mexico 72 million dollars.
