‘Farmers can’t export due to high freight rates’
By MAILESI BANDA GOVERNMENT should intervene over the freight rates being charged on the exporting of vegetables from Zambia, as this is making the sector uncompetitive in the region, Jina Foods chief executive officer, Jean Habimana has observed.
Mr Habimana said compared to Uganda which dominated exports into the European market, Zambian prices were on the higher side, adding that if they were to penetrate the market, there was need for Government to intervene.
Speaking in an interview with the Daily Nation, Mr Habimana said while Uganda offered a $1.3 per kilogramme as freight rate, the Zambia Export Growers Association (ZEGA) stood at $5.35 for the same quantity.
He explained that the rate that ZEGA was offering was among the most expensive in the region, adding that once the fees were relaxed, there was potential for more exports to leave Zambia especially vegetables, crops and fruits.
“It seems as if the high freight charges are a mechanism aimed at limiting the importation of produce from Zambia to Europe and other contents but to ensure that the farmers benefit from their produce I’m ready to engage with the ministers of Commerce and Agriculture,” Mr Habimana said.
He noted that there was a need for Zambian products on the international market and this can only be done if some of the limiting factors were worked on.
Mr. Habimana, who grew up in Zambia and runs his own company in Europe, announced earlier last week that he had decided to set up a purchasing and packaging facility in Lusaka.
He said his interest was in chili and other vegetables because he did not have access to enough chilis to use in the production of chilly oils, sauces and pastes produced by his company in Denmark.
Mr Habimana however lamented that he was not getting the desired response from Zambian farmers even after successfully distributing the seeds for the chili, adding that this has led to his decision to invest in the vegetable packaging plant in Lusaka.