Major growth in Zambian export market

With some mega projects on the horizon in the SADC region, cross-border business prospects are looking good for 2015, according to Hashim Ismail, CEO of Semwat Transport. The company has a wide footprint in Africa and works extensively across the borders – be it the delivery of ambulances to Zambia, structural housing to Mozambique, chicken coops to Zimbabwe, steel pipe sections to Botswana or just general equipment to the DRC. And while cargo from South Africa into the SADC region has always been the mainstay, he says there’s a new trend unfolding – return trips with cargo for import into South Africa. “There has been remarkable growth in the economies of countries such as Zambia over the past few years and we are starting to see the effect of this in the transport business,” said Ismail. “A product like sugar is being brought back into South Africa from Zambia for domestic use and even for export to Europe and other countries. We are seeing the Zambian export market grow. At present total national exports are earning around $45m in profit for the country. In season at Mazibuko Sugar Estate there are more than 10 trucks loading export product per day – all of which is good news not only for these SADC countries but for the logistics industry at large.” In Zambia the GDP in 2001 was just over $4billion. Four years later in 2005 it had more than doubled to $8 billion, and by 2013 it had more than tripled to $26 billion. But, said Ismail, a major concern was still border delays. “Cross-border facilities have not kept up with the massive increase in f leet activity over the past years. Factors such as the lack of standardisation of documentation between borders, lack of integrated documentation systems, little to no incremental investment in facilities, little upskilling of staff, and an insufficient number of officials, impact on the efficiency of most border posts in the region.” INSERT & CAPTION In season at Mazibuko Sugar Estate there are more than 10 trucks loading export product per day. – Hashim Ismail