Zimbabwean cotton sector liberalisation: A case of successful private coordination?

Zimbabwe embarked on market liberalisation in the early 1990s, leading towards increasing participation of private capital in the agricultural sector. This paper examines the emergent shape of a private marketing chain for cotton in Zimbabwe, based on fieldwork conducted between February and July 2000. It outlines the national regulatory system prior to market liberalisation, followed by a description of developments in production, processing and sales of lint against the background of the dismantling of the single-channel marketing system. The privatisation of the cotton marketing board replaced state monopoly with private, although collective private action and coordination prevented downgrading. The paper concludes with a discussion about (absence of) competition and commodity system sustainability in a liberalised market.