OVER 25 local companies seek to increase their presence in Zambia as they engage with leading distributors during the ongoing Zambia Agricultural and Commercial Show (ZACS).
ZimTrade, the nation’s trade development and promotion agency, facilitated Zimbabwean businesses’ attendance at the exhibition.
The organisation’s communications manager, Danai Majaha told NewsDay Business that the participation of Zimbabwean companies is designed to create linkages between local industry and distributors on the market.
“There are bountiful export opportunities in Zambia, which if tapped into, can set the market as a leading destination for Zimbabwean products,” he told NewsDay Business.
“The starting point is to create synergies between our local industry and buyers in the market, and our facilitation for companies to take part at ZACS is to stimulate that process.”
Majaha said the Zambia trade fair was expected to contribute towards growing Zimbabwe’s exports into the neighbouring country.
“The platform is here, discussions are ongoing and riding on the existing bilateral trade agreement between Zimbabwe and Zambia, we should be able to see a growth in our exports to Zambia,” he said.
Zimplow senior marketing officer Sandra Mhemba said the Zambia fair was providing opportunities for Zimbabwean companies to establish a strong foothold on the market.
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“As Zambia’s agricultural sector is expanding, competition is also emerging, and we are using this fair to reaffirm our position as the preferred brand.
“The fair will help us solidify our presence in the Zambian market, seeing that this is our biggest export market.
“As we cement our position, we are establishing new relations with potential distributors that will be able to unlock more markets in Zambia as well as strengthen our relations with existing distributors,”
Paramount administrator Jerome Chinyangare said the trade fair was proving to be a solution to expanding into the Zambian market.
“We are already in Zambia, but we are using this fair as a springboard to expanding our business, taking advantage of our competitive prices and high quality.
“Already, some of the potential distributors we have engaged with at this fair have indicated that they prefer the high quality of our products, and other offerings from Zimbabwe, which will make it easy for us to land more products into this market.
“We are realising the high demand of our products here in Zambia, and from supplying established businesses, we are finding avenues to supply small businesses that will drive our products to hard-to-reach areas,” he said.
Chinyangare also indicated the potential for the trade fair to create more opportunities for economic development in Zimbabwe.
“Our expansion into Zambia has ripple effects on our business, and our expansion means we are going to create more employment opportunities in Zimbabwe,” he said.
ZACS is a multi-sectoral trade fair that showcases different products and services such as agricultural machinery and implements, processed foods, livestock, horticultural, and financial services.
The 95th edition of the trade show, which started yesterday and runs until next Monday, is running under the theme, Inclusive Economic Transformation.
Participating companies are drawn from sectors with huge potential for export growth into Zambia, such as fast-moving consumer goods, agricultural inputs and implements, leather and leather products.
Other sectors represented are protective clothing, building and construction, and services.
