ZAMBEEF EXPORTS HELP BOOST NATIONAL EARNINGS

Edible oils, stock feed and leather generate foreign exchange income

Zambeef Products looks set to generate record export earnings this year, making it one of the single largest foreign exchange earners for the country.

The agribusiness conglomerate, which is a member of the Zambia Development Agency’s (ZDA) elite Million Dollar Club of leading exporters, has already recorded export income of US$24.8 million (approximately K137 million) in the first nine months of this financial year to the end of June, and expects the final figure to exceed US$30 million (K193 million) by the end of this financial year.

Zambeef’s overseas sales make it among the largest exporters in the country, contributing around 1.5 percent of all of Zambia’s non-traditional exports of around K9.5 billion (US$1.7 billion).

The country’s total exports, including traditional metal exports, for the first six months of 2013 were K27.8 billion (around US$5 billion, according to the Central Statistical Office (CSO).

“Zambeef is a proudly Zambian company and its directors and management believe strongly in the importance of contributing to the nation’s economy in every way we can,” said Director of Strategy and Developments Carl Irwin. “Our exports are growing, and that generates foreign exchange flows for the country, in turn boosting Zambia’s economic fortunes, generating more tax for the government, and creating employment within the country.”

Mr Irwin stressed that as Zambeef is a Zambian company all of Zambeef’s income from exports are remitted back into Zambia in full, where all tax is paid on all earnings.

The group paid taxes of K85 million in the first nine months of this financial year.

A large proportion of Zambeef’s export earnings are generated by its Zamanita edible oils subsidiary and from its Novatek animal feeds and Zamleather divisions.

These export earnings exclude the operations of Zambeef’s two overseas subsidiaries operating in Nigeria and Ghana. These two subsidiaries , which are run by Zambian nationals, had a turnover of US$7.7m in the first six months of the financial year and are expected to exceed US$16m for the full financial year.