𝗭𝗮𝗺𝗯𝗶𝗮’𝘀 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲 & 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝗻𝗮𝗽𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘁 – 𝗝𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱

𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗧𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀

Year-on-year inflation for January 2025 remained steady at 16.7%.

• Food inflation firmed to 19.2% from 18.6%.

• Non-food inflation slowed to 13.2%, down from 14.2%.

Among provinces, Central recorded the highest inflation rate at 23.1%, while Northern had the lowest at 12.4%. Lusaka and Copperbelt stood at 18.1% and 18.8%, respectively.

𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲

The total value of imports and exports in 2024 was K587.6 billion, up from K416.2 billion in the previous year.

December 2024 registered a trade deficit of K3.3 billion, compared to a surplus of K1.1 billion in November. Total exports in December stood at K27.0 billion, marking a 14.2% decline from November’s K31.5 billion.

Earnings from refined copper exports fell by 2.8%, from K20.4 billion to K19.8 billion, despite export volumes increasing by 0.5% to 80,000 metric tonnes. Copper prices on the London Metal Exchange also dropped 1.7% to US$8,919.5 per metric tonne.

For the full year 2024, total copper export volumes reached 802,000 metric tonnes, up 2.8% from 779,800 metric tonnes in 2023.

𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀

Switzerland was Zambia’s largest export destination in December, accounting for 53.6% of total export earnings. China followed with 12.6%. with the Democratic Republic of Congo ranked third at 9.2%.

𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀

South Africa remained Zambia’s top import source, accounting for 26.2% of the total import bill. China and the United Arab Emirates followed, with 6.5% and 1.8%, respectively. The leading import from South Africa was electricity, which made up 17.1% of total imports from that country.

As inflation remains elevated, economic stability will depend on strategic trade policies and energy sector improvements. While copper output is in recovery, unpredictability of copper prices, determined by supply and demand of the commodity will drive export earnings