A Zambian Buyer/Seller mission is currently taking place in Namibia. A 12-member strong Zambian business delegation arrived in Namibia on Wednesday to establish business relation-ships with Namibia businesses. The delegation will have a series of one-on-one meetings with identified businesses and hold a mini-exhibition this Friday, 23 March at the Safari Conference Centre in Windhoek, to be opened by Zambian president Levy Mwanawasa.
The NCCI held a press briefing on Wedensday afternoon to introduce the business delegation and outline what they have to offer. According to Ms Tulimeyo Kaapanda-Ausiku, Namibia Regional Trade Programme (NRTP) Manager at the NCCI, these are by large big corporations in Zambia who are already exporting to other countries in the region and beyond. They represent products such as rice, fruit and vegetables, seeds, canned food, confectionaries, pharmaceutical products and many other.
Before this mission, a market survey was carried out in Namibia to principally establish the demand for Zambian products such as refined sugar, chitenge cloth, canned vegetables and fruit, maize and other cereals, seeds, cassava, molasses, vegetables, cotton, maheu drink and UHT milk.
The research also focused on the identification of potential buyers of Zambian products. Zambian exports to Namibia of the products are currently very low. In 2004, exports of all these commodities to Namibia from Zambia totalled US$ 353,000 (about N$2,5 million).
This shows Namibia is not a key market for Zambian exports of these commodities accounting for zero percent of total Zambian exports. Zambia only accounted for 2% of total Namibian imports of these commodities meaning that it is not an important source of supply. Apart from sugar and oilseeds, trade is also inconsistent with imports reflecting in one or two years across a five-year period.
There are a number of product categories where Zambia has strong export potential and is exporting to other countries outside of the region that correspond with strong Namibian imports where Namibia is sourcing from countries other than Zambia. The challenge for Zambian exporters is to break into a market that has traditionally been completely dominated by imports from neighbouring South Africa. All vegetables, cereals, seeds, molasses from Zambia are imported duty-free. However, the importers will have to pay 16% VAT. About 85% of imports into Namibia from SADC countries are duty free.
There has been a strong response from the Namibian business community especially in sugar, kapenta fish, fruit and vegetables and seeds, and the NCCI strongly urged more Namibian businesses to engange in business discussions with Zambian exporters, said Kaapanda-Ausiku in a press statement.