Economist Emmanuel Zulu has called for deliberate measures that are aimed at increasing high value exports to enhance the prospects of the economy and increase foreign exchange.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times (ZBT), Zulu said the Country must strive to add value to it’s traditional exports such as raw copper to enable the creation of more jobs in the a country.
“We would like to see more in terms of the quality of exports, not just volume but the quality matters. Zambia still has room to value add in terms of traditional exports which is raw copper and other minerals, so that we can create jobs in the Country even as we add value to the exports,” he said.
Zulu stated that there is need for investments in Artificial Intelligence to allow it’s efficacy contribute to the increase of volumes and quality of exports in terms of the mining sector.
“In terms of AI we must also consider investing in smart agriculture and environmental friendly agriculture so that there is that sustainability, even as we are looking at recording positive results in trade surplus, that should be sustainable, fluctuations are not good for an economy that is vastly growing, we need to see that is sustained for a longer period, and we must grow our economy and increase our export volumes and value,” he said.
