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Agribusiness

Once an accessible source of protein for many Zambian households, fish is now becoming a costly commodity as prices have surged across markets, leaving consumers frustrated and fish vendors struggling to keep up with demand.


According to the Zambian Aquaculture Cooperative Society Limited (ZACOSO), the price of fish in Zambia has surged due to a sharp decline in small-scale aquaculture production, largely driven by spilling effects of the drought and power supply challenges.


‎Speaking in an exclusive interview with Zambian Business Times-ZBT, ZACOSO Chairperson Dr Collins Kachaka explained that many small-scale fish farmers who are the major contributors of fish on the market have abandoned their trade after suffering significant losses. “The major issue here is that several small-scale fish farmers have stopped producing fish. They are no longer in the business because
of the drought,” he said.


‎ Dr Kachaka alluded that the prolonged dry spell led to widespread borehole failures, leaving farmers without a crucial water supply for their fishponds, highlighting that even those who had minimal water reserves faced further setbacks due to erratic electricity supply, which made it impossible to pump water into their ponds. The result was catastrophic mass fish mortalities and extensive financial losses.


‎Beyond the immediate impact of water scarcity, Dr. Kachaka highlighted another key challenge
with pond liners. “About 80% of small-scale fish farmers in Zambia use pond liners, which are large plastic sheets used to line fishponds. Due to the extreme heat caused by the drought, these liners were damaged beyond repair,” he explained. “With no income to replace the expensive liners, many farmers have been unable to resume production.”
‎With small-scale farmers struggling, the supply of fish in Zambia has become heavily dependent on large commercial farms, particularly those in Siavonga. This shift has created supply gaps, ultimately driving up prices.


‎”In Zambia, we primarily stock tilapia, especially Oreochromis niloticus, which is the dominant fish in the market. But now, all tilapia species are in short supply,” Dr. Kachaka noted.
‎However, with the scarcity, high fish prices are expected to persist for some time as small-scale
farmers remain without support to recover from their losses.


‎Meanwhile, Dr. Kachaka made an urgent appeal for financial empowerment to revive small scale fish farming. “Small fish farmers contribute about 70% of Zambia’s fish supply and are major employers in aquaculture. If they have incurred such heavy losses, they must be empowered,” he urged.
‎He called on the government and financial institutions to provide targeted grants and loans to
struggling farmers, stressing that such support would help revitalize the industry, restore jobs, and
combat poverty.” This situation will take time before it is corrected,” he warned. “Without intervention, the fish shortage will continue, and prices will remain high,” he added

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Once an accessible source of protein for

Markets

The Oil Marketing Companies Association of Zambia (OMCAZ) has called on the government to
implement deliberate policies that will protect and empower local oil marketing companies (OMCs) in
the petroleum sector.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Zambian Business Times ZBT, OMCAZ President Mubanga Kafula stated that while the Open Access Regime was designed to promote competition in the use of the TAZAMA pipeline, local OMCs are struggling to compete with international players due to stringent
financial requirements and the lack of structured market access.
‎Kafula explained that while Zambia has made progress in ensuring fair access to the pipeline, the tendering process poses a major challenge. Unlike countries such as Tanzania, which conduct fuel tenders every month to ensure cost-reflective pricing, Zambia has yet to adopt a model that aligns with international best practices.


‎Kafula highlighted that the high cost of performance bonds required in fuel procurement is a major barrier for local OMCs. He noted that most Zambian OMCs lack the financial muscle to provide the necessary securities, making it difficult for them to win government fuel supply contracts.
“Very few Zambian OMCs today can provide the required security instruments such as performance
bonds. These are a huge cost, and without them, local companies cannot effectively compete in fuel procurement tenders,” Kafula said.


‎According to OMCAZ, another major concern is the lack of market access for local OMCs, with larger foreign firms controlling supply to major off-takers such as the mines.
Kafula pointed out that most mining companies in Zambia, including Mopani Copper Mines, source their
fuel from international players, leaving local firms with little to no share of the market.
“You cannot have a system where major mining companies are exclusively supplied by foreign firms.
There must be a deliberate policy to ensure that at least 30-40% of mine fuel supply is allocated to local OMCs. Without this, Zambian businesses will continue to struggle,” he said.

Kafula further emphasized that even though Zambian OMCs have demonstrated their ability to supply fuel, the absence of supportive policies has hindered their growth. He recalled that in 2020 and 2021, when multinational companies withdrew investments in the sector, local OMCs stepped up and maintained national supply levels despite operating with limited resources. Kafula warned that without these measures, the fuel industry will continue to be dominated by foreign companies, making it difficult for Zambians to benefit from the sector.


“It is not enough to issue licenses to Zambian OMCs if they do not have access to the market. Government must ensure that its policies match its empowerment agenda by creating opportunities for local companies,” he said.
Kafula has since urged the government to introduce a regulatory framework that protects the interests of Zambian OMCs. He reiterated that Zambian OMCs are ready to play a bigger role in the industry but need government support to level the playing field and promote economic growth.

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The Oil Marketing Companies Association of Zambia

Agribusiness

A Chadiza Zemba area ,tobacco farmer says tobacco farming is a lucrative business that brings more money as it is one of the crops that most buyers pay in dollars.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times -ZBT, tobacco farmer Leonard Banda said, when one grows tobacco, they need to make sure that they properly manage the crop from both the field and the curing part .
“I have planted 2.8 hectares which is equivalent to 3 hectares just for tobacco. Tobacco is one crop that
pays well as compared to other crops.” Banda stated.
He added that from the 3 hectares where he has planted tobacco, he is anticipating to produce about 3,000 Kgs of which on average in terms of worth in Zambian Kwacha will be valued at not less than K250,000 regardless of how the market price will be.


He further disclosed that this year he is anticipating to have a bumper harvest as compared to last year
were his yields were badly affected by the droughts. “Last year because of the droughts
I encountered a loss, as I didn’t harvest the quantities which I was expecting due to the droughts. Last
year I harvested about almost a thousand kgs of which after selling it, I got about K73,000 which I later
invested and used it to purchase a taxi (Car) .” He said. Banda further outlined that currently one of the challenge that they are facing is availability of trees , looking at it that in their area most of the tobacco farmers are into (FCV) Virginia tobacco farming, which is cured tobacco as it requires them to
use firewood to cure the same commodity.


He added that there is need for organizations like TAZ, IITA, TBZ being an umbrella for the crop to step up awareness and even provide trees for planting so as to encourage farmers to replant the trees that they
will use or cut down during production. Banda further called on the government to ensure that they prioritize the farmers interest when it comes to the market price so that when it comes to buying the commodity it should be bought at a price that will benefit both the buyer and producer, putting in mind issues of production cost.


He further told ZBT that, the industry needs governments full support and not restricting them from growing tobacco as many farmers rely on the same crop to sustain their livelihood.

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A Chadiza Zemba area ,tobacco farmer says

Markets, Politics

Govt risks breach of IMF ECF conditionalities over TAZARA withhold of critical tender award details

The committee that sat to scrutinize the 18 shortlisted bidders risks the Zambian government breaching the conditionalities and pledges agreed with the International Monetary Fund – IMF by dragging their feet in publishing and sharing the full list of bidders and their beneficial owners. The tender results have shocked some participating companies who confided that some of the companies awarded literary have no experience and may have been awarded due to to corruption and favoritism.

The committee announced that Indeni Energy Company Limited, Boltt Global Solutions Limited, and a joint venture between Titanium Oil Corporation and ADNOC has been selected for April 2025 and further that the Zambian government had pledged as part of the Extended Credit Facility – ECF and wider IMF country support to Zambia to transparently disclose details that would enable the general public to get the best price from competitive bidding and implement the open access regime for importation of diesel using the TAZAMA pipeline. During the IMF visit, it had been noted that the deal with Agro fuel had not been awarded through a competitive tender process.

Using of the pipeline as opposed to road tanker trucking is expected to cut the transportation cost component by more than half, a scenario that would lead to a cut in both wholesale and retail pump prices that would benefit the country in terms of reduction in fuel prices, a key driver of inflation.

According to a source who spoke to the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, asking for their identity to be withheld due to the sensitivity of the matter, stated that the Zambian authorities (govt) pledged higher standards of transparency after it emerged that the earlier contract by Agro Fuel and its partners was heavily profiting from a a retail price formula that used road transportation cost as part of the computation.

A check by ZBT confirmed that indeed the Zambian Government committed to higher levels of transparency. An IMF document seen by ZBT shows that the Zambian government committed to “publish the Tazama open access tender results on the Ministry of Energy website within one month of the contract award, including winning bidder with price, type and quantities of inputs, total contract amounts and their beneficial owners as well all unsuccessful bids with price, type, and quantities of inputs.

The Zambia government further committed to the financier (IMF) that “Single-sourcing procurement for strategic reasons under direct bidding will remain an exception regulated under the open access guidelines and the nominated OMC will undergo the standard procurement vetting process applied to all OMCs in open tenders. Contracts under the direct bidding methods will be published within a month on Ministry of Energy website, including volume, price, and beneficial ownership information.

At time of going to press, this information had not been published. The tender committee chairperson Dr. Lameck Banda when contacted by ZBT stated that he could not comment and referred the matter to the TAZAMA procurement member of the committee. Tazama Procurement Head Musenge Sinkala told ZBT that they were not aware of the government commitment to IMF but stated that they are able and willing to share the details.

“We were working using the open access guidelines that did not specify the needs that are in the IMF document, some of the information is readily available since this was an open tender and all bidders were present, its only the beneficial owners that needs further PACRA searches and legal services involvement”, stated Sinkala. He told ZBT that reasons for all rejected bidders were made public and are available.

TAZAMA Managing Director Davison Thawethe told ZBT that he was not part of the tender committee that sat to select the preferred bidders but promised that he would share the contacts of the procurement team member responsible. At at time of publishing, only the information for beneficial ownership was outstanding. 

Further, the Zambian government committed to “no longer grant waivers for the sale of petroleum products outside of ERB price and in foreign currency. Going forward, diesel imported through the pipeline will only be sold in local currency for domestic retail distribution”.

The above commitment to sell only to local retail market, according to the ZBT impeccable source, was a result of findings that some of the diesel imported for the Zambian market ended up being sold into the neighboring DRC at lucrative US dollar prices by the single sourced.

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The committee that sat to scrutinise the