Zambia beefs up its foreign trade agreements forging US$24.5m export deals with DRC
ZAMBIA – Zambia’s food production and processing players are set to highly benefit from the recently forged deal with the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), led by the Zambia Development Agency (ZDA).
In a press-statement, ZDA has revealed that it bagged deals worth US$ 24.50 million from the just ended DRC Trade Mission in Lubumbashi, with confirmed orders totalling US$10.82 million, while US$13.7 million are export leads, with more still to come as some companies are still in discussion with their potential clients on possible deals.
This builds on the business discussion undertaken by both countries last September when 45 export ready and exporting Zambian companies were taken to DRC by ZDA, Government of Finland through the Finnish government funded Accelerated Growth for Micro Small and Medium Sized Enterprises in Zambia (AGS Zambia Programme) and ABSA Bank Zambia PLC to secure market access for their products.
This year’s trade mission which ran from September 22nd to 24th, 2022, was aimed to facilitate the growth of Zambia’s non-traditional exports (NTEs) and to secure market access for Zambian products.
To this end, confirmed orders and leads are for the supply of day old chicks, chicken sausages, fish, pork, maize seed, mealie meal, maize samp and beans. Others include personal protective equipment (PPEs), safety clothing and copper cables and pots.
This validates the Agency’s strategy and positioning that DRC is Zambia’s number one market for Non-Traditional Exports.
“These results are a further testimony that both large companies and SMEs can both earn foreign exchange and thereby significantly create jobs and wealth for the Zambian citizens.
“ZDA’s strategy going forward is to facilitate market access for as many companies as possible to export products and expand the exporter base to DRC in line with the aspirations of the New Dawn Government of increasing trade and investment for the country,” said ZDA Acting Director General Albert Halwampa.
The Zambian enterprises which included large companies and Small and Medium Enterprises were drawn from various sectors including agriculture, agro-processing, manufacturing, tourism, mining, processed foods, leather and textile.
The Agency is following up on the participating companies with trade leads to ensure that they translate into actual export transactions.
“Next year, the Agency plans to undertake at least four trade missions into DRC to explore markets in Tanganyika, Haut-Lomami, Lualaba, and the usual Haut-Katanga provinces of the DRC,” he added.
The Agency is determined to ensure that Zambian companies penetrate, expand and consolidate the Congolese market.
The trade mission was part of the implementation of the N8 +1 Export Strategy aimed at increasing NTEs in the region, particularly the low hanging fruit markets of DRC, Angola and South Africa.
As Zambia is initiating trade deals with its neighbouring countries, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat, is currently undertaking a pilot phase of the trade agreement to allow commercially meaningful trading, and test the operational, institutional, legal and trade policy environment under the agreement.
Under the Guided Trade Initiative, eight countries have been selected to participate including Cameroon, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Rwanda, Tanzania and Tunisia, representing the five regions of Africa.
AfCFTA launched on 1st January 2021 is deemed to be the largest free trade area in the world in terms of the number of countries covered, presenting a market of 1.2 billion consumers.
For all the latest food industry news from Africa and the World, subscribe to our NEWSLETTER, follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn, like us on Facebook and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
