Zambia has recorded a trade surplus valued at about K865.7 billion in August 2010 meaning that the country exported more in August this year than it imported in value terms.
Acting Director of Census and Statistics John Kalumbi disclosed in Lusaka yesterday that the country had continued to register surplus since January this year with the highest valued at about K1, 147.7 billion in March 2010.
He said Zambia’s major export products in August 2010 were from the intermediate goods category which included copper cathodes and sections of refined copper, accounting for 83.5 percent and raw materials accounting for 9.6 percent while capital and consumer goods accounted for 6.9 percent of the total exports in the same month.
And Zambia’s major export destination in last month was Switzerland which accounted for 55.1%, seconded by China accounting for 20.5 %, South Africa 7.0%, Congo DR 5.3% and Malawi which imports tobacco from Zambia accounting for 1.7 % of the total exports.
ZANIS
All this is meaningless if there no money in ordinary people’s pockets; If ordinary Zambians cannot afford three meals a day; If they have no jobs; If the quality of life of ordinary Zambians is poor. These effects are only felt by politicians and a few elite there in Lusaka. Are these effects felt in other parts of Zambia. Mr Kalumbi dont bore us with figures, we want results.
Why not use some of this surplus to build infrustructure instead of getting loans,where is this same surplus,who’s benefitting if we are always getting loans.,doesnt make any sense
Good news.
Only a Kaponya would not make sense of this.
What do we export to the Swiss?
There are pipo realy in Zambia who are born dull even if they went to school.A reasonable person with sound mind cant see that surplass in terms of trade is good for the country.Why do pipo continue talking about the pipo getting the money.what the Government is doing is the best educating all chldren in zambia an educated pipo think well to develop the country than hand outs to the pipo who cant even read or write.there are more basic schools and high schools in than at 20 years ago.There are more colleges and universities to day.The challenge we have is how can these be integrated into
society.even south korea did the same educating all children and all have something to do not being employed by the government but other sectors of the economy.
These are good signs………
Some more good news about the economy. Yesterday it was the inflation figures that showed that even the price of food was falling and now this! Well done RB and MMD!
Only the vast, spetacular kalidoscopic array of thieves, drug dealers, failed bussiness pipo that forms the pact would dispute the growing vibrace of our economy. Gentlemen and Gentlewomen, be afaid, be very afaid of this ensamble of crooks with mouths salivating at the prospect of getting their hands on the economy.
God help Zambia.
How often does RB go to Switzerland to look for markets for Zambia’s products???
#11 Koma imwe mulibilethu nzeru ati? Maybe he does not need to go to Switzerland because that market is already captured, therefore he goes to places where we need to tell them about what we have to offer in terms of products or investment opportunities? Is that concept really that difficult for you to comprehend?
IWE # 4 and 6, Are people going to eat trade surplus? This stu.pi.d figures mean nothing to somebody in Shangombo or Kaputa, waumfwa. Uletontonkanya. Just because walya ubwali na kanama ati ifintu filifyw bwino. Kwisa?
There is always a starting point. You dont make a profit once in your company and start to spend everything, neither does your status change immediately you make a profit. What we need to do is constantly pressure those companies that are exporting like the mines to put more money into the pockets of zambian workers. This is where the miners need the govt because the tendency is that immediately copper prices go up, these mines employ “expatriates” so they can help in externalising the resources which Zambians are supposed to benefit. The same govt that talks about development allows mines to bring in “expatriates” unabated. Can someone please tell the GOVT that we have no other Zambia and once these minerals finish, thats the end. Investors need us just as much as we need them.
We should never treat these investors as though we need them more. Why do they leave their countries to come and live in bushes like Lumwana? We need to put up a deliberate financial policy to retain most of the money produced in the country. The greed that the politicians have shown is so worrisome. There is no difference btwn the opposition and ruling parties. Read todays daily mail where Sata is talking about benefitting. I thought politics was service to the people. Let me tell you politicians that no matter how much you steal from Zambian people, you will never be satisfied and a day of reckoning is coming when you will leave all you have stolen from the people of Zambia. God will give you sons in the form of Castro Chiluba (MHRIP) who will never even put the money to good use.
#2 @ RED CARD – Smooth criminal
Trade surplus does not mean physical cash being made available. It means that the Balance Of Payment is currently positive. That is the difference between net imports and net exports is in favour of Zambia. In layman’s language it means that Zambia and its business community exported more than what Zambians imported from outside in figurative terms.
Dont think that pipo in shangambo are poor.yes you can find some walking without shous or no shirt but believe such a person has got 12 cattle is that person poor.This is the reality in western province.
#1 &2 It is important to try and not comment on everything just because you have access to some form of internet. The response to the news has just reviewed that your carreer is something else perhaps not economics, but even then you do not need to be an economist to understand that trade surplus does not mean direct money into citizen’s pockets but rather indirectly means higher volumes traded would translate into saving on our foreign exchange reserves. Also more income for the companies that export means more tax revenue for the state and more money available to the Govt to support national activities such as Health, schools, road & rail infrastracture, security etc.This is a classic example of why there is so much negativity among Zambians towards Govt. due to our own ignorance.
#1 & 2 “Mr Banda said this growth was driven largely by expansion in the mining, agriculture and tourism sectors and in some non-traditional minerals industry.
He said owing to the prudent policies his Government implemented during the financial crisis, inflation stood at 8.2 percent in August this year while lending rates have dropped from as high as 40 percent with reserves increasing to over four months of import cover.#
Gilbert Lubinda, isn’t it funny how you call others dull while you expose yourself for the little you seem to understand. No one argues that we are exporting a lot, and simply put China is creating a demand for Copper that frankly is one of the biggest since the invention of fiber optics and the gulf war. That in itself is not an achievement that any politician should be applauded for, which I know is hard to understand when one makes a living by praising politicians. The issue has alwYs been with how this influx of wealth does not translate into anything tangible for the majority of Zambians, how all it does is increase the wealth gP between politicians and the hardworking honest Zambians. Wrap your mind around that and understand that you are obliged to demand more from those in power.
To put it another way, this article further shows why we are considered third world, because with natural resources this abundant and a population of only 12 million, a nation with transparency and an educated public would refuse to accept run down universities, hospitals and mobile clinics as marks of development.
Secondly, with any exposure to ZRA corrupt operations and the many unrecorded services politicians purchase from abroad in the name of vacations, health care and education for their loved ones one can see that we are not progressing because truly we import more than we need to, thanks to the thieving 5% in positions of ‘leadership’. Good news my foot.
Bra G
Thats absolutely nonsense,,you really dont know what you are talking about,do a bit more research before exposing your ignorance