LUSAKA, September 26 (ANA) - Zambian food company Zambeef Products has welcomed the government’s 2021 budget plans to increase import taxes on all beef, pork, and chicken products to boost and support local Zambian production and bring flexibility in the trade.
In his speech during the 2021 budget presentation in Parliament on Friday, Finance Minister Bwalya Ng'andu announced government would increase import duty to 40 percent from 25 percent on agro-products such as beef and processed beef products, pork and processed pork products, chicken and processed chicken products, and fish imported from outside the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) regions, Zambeef said in a statement.
“Import duties are just the first step towards fully tapping into the potential of Zambia in feeding itself and the region. We have been asking for this for a long time; farming will again become profitable,” Zambeef CEO Walter Roodt said in the statement.
He was also pleased with government’s move to create an enabling environment to grow and improve agricultural production. The 2021 budget stimulated economic activity and growth in agriculture and other sectors, he said.
Zambeef, the country’s leading food producer and retailer, also welcomed government proposals to introduce excise duty at the rate of K1.50 (about 0.075 US cents) per litre on reconstituted milk, and harmonise import duty rates on reconstituted milk with other forms of milk at 15 percent.
The Introduction of excise duty on flat plastic bags at 30 percent was also acknowledged as good for the environment, Roodt said.
Government’s plans to support the scaling up of agricultural productivity through mechanisation were also good news for Zambeef, with the minister proposing to zero-rate all tractors for VAT purposes. Currently, only tractors up to 90 horsepower are zero-rated.
The minister further proposed to suspend import duty on the importation of refrigerated trucks to support the domestic and export markets. This was aimed at building flexibility and mitigating revenue losses.
News of the Kafue Gorge hydropower project coming online was also critical for Zambeef, which was spending K2 million (about US100,000) a month on fuel for generators, plus depreciation and capital costs, due to power supply load shedding.
Roodt expressed concern about the bonded warehouses that allowed foreign products to be delivered via the border town of Kasumbalesa into the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) without duties.
“Zambia is allowing competition from outside the SADC and Comesa to freely access local markets via these warehouses, while they do not comply with ZRA [Zambia Revenue Authority] prescribed rules. We hope improved tax administration and border infrastructure will deal with it once it is announced,” he said.
“Foreign currency leaves Africa while Africa could locally produce the food. The DRC is also deprived of import duties due to Zambia allowing the bonded warehouses to operate with impunity from its territory,” Roodt said.
- African News Agency (ANA), editing by Jacques Keet