The Zambian government has reversed the 10% export duty on raw maize following an outcry from farmers. The duty was ostensibly imposed to encourage value addition and job creation. Farmers relentlessly fought against the tax, describing it as a major policy inconsistency that will discourage increased grain productivity. Zambian National…
President Edgar Lungu has challenged farmers to produce more to get a waiver on the 10% maize export duty. “We introduced the export tax on maize exports to preserve food security and not as a measure of revenue collection. Therefore, farmers must invest heavily to produce more maize for local…
The Zambian government has cut the excise duty on unprocessed and semi-processed timber by 75%. This emboldened farmers to ask that the 10% export duty on raw maize also be waived. According to the Statutory Instrument (SI) 40 effected on June 2, 2017, unprocessed and semi-processed wood products will now…
The Zambia National Farmers Union (ZNFU) says a powerful cartel is behind the 10% maize export duty. “The cartel wants to control agriculture marketing,” said ZNFU president Jervis Zimba. According to him, the cartel misled government to impose the tax, which gave them an opportunity to make astronomical profits, while…
The 10% export duty on raw maize is a recipe for smuggling, says Wynter Kabimba, a former minister and leader of the Zambian opposition party, Rainbow. Kabimba said the export duty will ultimately make government lose colossal sums of revenue as grain traders resort to smuggling. “There are many bush…
