Divisi
Mbare Musika
Wholesale · Harare, Zimbabwe · also called Mbare Msika, Magaba, Mbare market
The distribution centre for Zimbabwean produce. Growers deliver through the night and early morning, wholesalers break loads down, and vendors from across Harare buy here to resell in the suburbs. It is also the country's main rural-bound bus terminus, which is why produce and people move through the same gates.
In season here in September: Tomato · Onion
What trades at Mbare Musika
| Crop | Sold by | Supply peaks |
|---|---|---|
 Tomato |
crate | April to June, September to October Sold by the field crate. |
 Maize |
50 kg bag | May to July |
 Cabbage |
head | May to August Priced per head, sold by the bundle of ten. |
| Onion | September to November | |
 Irish potato |
15 kg pocket | June to August |
 Sweet potato |
20 L bucket | May to July |
 Groundnut |
20 L bucket | June to August |
 Common bean |
20 L bucket | June to July |
 Banana & plantain |
box | — |
 Pumpkin / butternut (winter squash) |
May to July |
Selling by the bucket or the bag? The farming glossary turns those measures into kilograms — what a 20 litre bucket of each crop really weighs, level and heaped. Open the glossary →
Selling here
- Trading days
- Every day
- Currency
- USD, ZWG
- Trading since
- 1930s
Trading runs through the night; the heaviest buying is 03:00–09:00.
Deals are quoted and settled in US dollars. ZiG is legal tender and some traders will take it, but bring USD cash in small notes — change is the thing that stalls a sale.
Growers sell in bulk to traders who break the load down and resell. The best price for a full load, and the longest trip.
On the southern edge of central Harare, off Ardbennie Road. It is the terminus for rural long-distance buses, so a grower without a truck can move a load in on the same bus they travel on — the reason many smallholders sell here rather than closer to home.
Places that could sell into Mbare Musika
-
Epworth · 14 km
-
Harare Rural · 15 km
-
Chitungwiza · 18 km
-
Ruwa · 20 km
-
Seke · 21 km
-
Harare · 21 km
-
Chegutu · 37 km
-
Goromonzi · 41 km
The story of Mbare Musika
Mbare Musika grew out of the produce trade that African farmers and traders — women above all — built around colonial Salisbury, and it grew in spite of a municipality that spent decades trying to keep Africans out of produce marketing. Historians have traced the market continuously from 1930. That origin still shapes it: it was never planned into the city, it was won.
Mbare Musika prices, and what to grow for it
Prices here move hour to hour, so they belong in the app rather than on a web page — a printed number would be wrong before you read it, and a live one from the traders standing in this market will not be.
Market prices are coming to the Divisi app — reported by the farmers and traders who are actually on the floor. Divisi also plans the season on your own field: what to plant, when to plant it, and what to do each week. Free for farmers, works offline.
Frequently asked questions
What is sold at Mbare Musika?
Mbare Musika trades tomato, maize, cabbage, onion, irish potato, sweet potato, groundnut, common bean, banana & plantain, pumpkin / butternut (winter squash). The distribution centre for Zimbabwean produce. Growers deliver through the night and early morning, wholesalers break loads down, and vendors from across Harare buy here to resell in the suburbs. It is also the country's main rural-bound bus terminus, which is why produce and people move through the same gates.
When is tomato cheapest at Mbare Musika?
Supply of tomato into Mbare Musika peaks April to June, September to October, and that is when prices are usually at their lowest. Selling just before the peak, rather than in the middle of it, is where the money is.
What currency is used at Mbare Musika?
USD, ZWG. Deals are quoted and settled in US dollars. ZiG is legal tender and some traders will take it, but bring USD cash in small notes — change is the thing that stalls a sale.
What time does Mbare Musika open?
Every day. Trading runs through the night; the heaviest buying is 03:00–09:00.
What are today's prices at Mbare Musika?
Divisi does not publish daily prices for Mbare Musika — they move hour to hour, and a number printed on a web page would be wrong before you read it. Market prices are coming to the Divisi app, reported by the farmers and traders who are actually there. Install it and you will have them the day they land.