Mystery of disappearing copper

Much of the copper
exported by Zambia
never arrives at its
primary destination,
according to “Trade
Misinvoicing in Primary
Commodities in Developing
Countries” by professor
Léonce Ndikumana of the
University of Massachusetts
in Amherst.
On paper 51% of Zambian
copper is exported to
Switzerland, but “copper
exports to Switzerland present a
peculiar case, as no such exports
are recorded in Switzerland at
all,” says the report.
Switzerland is not alone. “The
results for trade with Italy show
US$2 billion of copper export
under-invoicing compared to
only $16 million of exports
reported in Zambia’s data.
“The respective values for
trade with the Republic of
Korea are $3.9 billion in export
under-invoicing and $358
million of declared exports.
“Most of the copper exports to
these countries are not recorded
in Zambia’s official statistics,”
says the report.