• As much as possible as a country, we must encourage ourselves to export more.
• More exports will bring in more foreign exchange.
• Most shops in the country are full of imported goods.
A Trade Expert says Zambia must encourage itself to export more locally produced goods in order to continue recording a trade surplus and contribute to economic growth.
Speaking in an interview with Money FM News, Dr. Windu Matoka said when the country exports more, more foreign exchange will come in which can help stabilize the exchange rate.
Dr. Matoka noted that most shops in the country are full of imported goods, meaning that the more countries bring in their food, the less Zambia is able to consume its own locally produced goods, thereby growing the economies of foreign countries.
“When you record a trade surplus, it means you have exported more than you have imported, when you have a trade deficit that is where you have imported more than you have exported. So in this case if we recorded a trade surplus, it means that we exported more than we imported and that is as it should be. As much as possible as a country, we must encourage ourselves to export more because when we export more, we are bringing in more foreign exchange and that can help in terms of stabilizing our foreign exchange.”
“When we look at our shops in Zambia, most of the shelves are full of goods coming from other countries, meaning that the more those countries bring in their food into Zambia, the less we are able to consume our own locally produced goods which is not very good at all, that means that we are growing the economies of those countries from which these goods come,” Dr. Matoka stated.
He stressed the need to export more and only try to import what the country does not produce, as this is the only sure way to grow the economy.
“If we can do as much as we can to export, and only try to import what we do not have in the country and try as much as possible to export more than we import, it is very good for the economy,” he added.
Recently, Zambia Statistics Agency (ZamStats) disclosed that the country recorded a trade surplus of K2.77 billion in November 2022 compared to a surplus of K2.84 billion in October 2022 mainly on account of 8.7 and 27.7 percent increase in export earnings from Intermediate goods and Consumer goods, respectively.
A trade surplus is an economic measure of a positive balance of trade, where a country’s exports exceed its imports.
