MONDAY, 2.00PM
ZAMBIA has banned all imports of flour, including flour in transit, in a bid to gain a preferential trade agreement with South Africa. About 10_000 tons of flour a year are supplied to Zambia by SA flour millers Premier Milling, Tiger Oats and Bokomo/Sasko, making it SA’s third-largest flour export market. The Zambians claim the ban is necessary to prevent smuggling and the alleged supply of flour which had “expired”.
A National Chamber of Millers spokesperson said the ban violates the Southern African Development Community and General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade protocols. He said Zambia’s biggest concern seems to be the loss through smuggling of revenue from 17,5% VAT and the 15% import tariff, but said that SA exporters pay VAT and obtain the necessary import permits. He also denied that SA producers had provided stale flour.
SA trucks transporting flour to the Republic of Congo, SA’s second-largest flour market, are having to pay 37,5% duties up front, with Zambia saying it will return these payments at its leisure. The chamber has approached the SA Department of Trade and Industry on the issue, but has yet to receive official comment.
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