Egg producers fly 8 tons a month to Cameroon

Zambia’s strategic central
location from a logistics
perspective has been
recognised by egg
producers, with nearly eight tons
of broiler hatching eggs being
exported a month to Cameroon,
according to Nkula Kasanga,
regional manager of BidAir Cargo.
The West African country is
just one of the destinations for
Zambian-produced eggs, he says.
According to a Netherlands
government-funded study of
the poultry industry in Zambia,
the sector contributes 4.8% to
the agricultural gross domestic
product, and 48% of the livestock
sector.
According to the Poultry
Association of Zambia, the poultry
sector provides direct and indirect
employment to 80 000.
Production is reported by the
association to be over a 1.1 billion
eggs and 73 million broilers.
The main producers are
largely foreign-owned integrated
companies Zambeef (which
includes poultry feed producer
Novatek), Zamchick, Eureka
chicken, Olympic Stock Feeds,
Nam Feeds, Hybrid Poultry, Ross
Breeders, Tiger Chicks, Copper
Belt chickens and Golden Lay.
In 2015 South Africa’s Rainbow
Chicken entered into a joint
venture with Zambeef to form
Zamhatch, which provides day-old
broiler chicks to the local market.
BidAir Cargo makes use of
Ethiopian Airlines for its exports
to Cameroon via Addis Ababa.
Airfreight is preferred over road
because the eggs are subjected to
less stress than those hauled by
road, according to Kasanga.
BidAir Cargo Zambia is a joint
venture with Zega, one of the
biggest exporters of fresh produce
from Zambia.
It has offices and representation
in Livingstone, Lusaka, Ndola,
Chipata, Mfuwe, Mansa, Kasama
and Solwezi in Zambia, as well
as a number of destinations in
neighbouring countries.
“We can reach most destinations
in Africa from here,” he says.
In addition to agricultural
exports BidAir handles urgent
spares for the mines and the
export of ore samples for analysis
by labs in China and Europe.
CAPTION
The poultry industry in Zambia contributes 4.8% to the agricultural gross
domestic product.