Trade

ZAMBIA TRADE SECTOR KEY FIGURES 2024, EXPORTS, IMPORTS, BALANCE

Zambia’s copper exports grew 13.2% to USD 7.5 billion in 2024 and gold exports more than doubled to USD 261.6 million, helping narrow the country’s current account deficit to 6.1% of GDP even as imports rose 10% to USD 10.1 billion.

Zambia trades under three overlapping regional and continental frameworks, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, the Southern African Development Community, and the African Continental Free Trade Area, with its domestic regulatory system generally aligned to SADC and COMESA rules.

Exports and Imports

Copper exports grew 13.2% to USD 7.5 billion in 2024, and gold exports more than doubled to USD 261.6 million from USD 127.5 million, driving export growth that outpaced a 10% rise in imports to USD 10.1 billion^[1]. That export strength narrowed Zambia’s current account deficit to USD 1.6 billion, or 6.1% of GDP, from USD 1.9 billion, or 6.9% of GDP, the previous year^[1]. Copper alone accounted for the large majority of goods exports, underscoring how closely Zambia’s trade balance tracks the mining sector covered in more depth on the dedicated Mining page^[1].

Export Destinations

Zambia’s total export earnings reached USD 3.1 billion in the fourth quarter of 2024, up 28.2% from the same period in 2023, driven by a 43.4% rise in copper earnings to USD 2.1 billion on higher prices and volumes^[3]. Switzerland was the leading destination for copper exports, USD 1,327.3 million in the fourth quarter, though the Bank of Zambia notes this reflects where Zambia’s copper traders are based rather than the metal’s final destination, which is predominantly Asia and specifically China^[3]. Beyond copper, ores, slag and ash exports to Canada grew 85.6% to USD 54.6 million, precious stones to South Africa grew 201.6% to USD 34.0 million, and articles of stone, plaster and cement to the United Arab Emirates reached USD 80.7 million from effectively nothing a year earlier^[3]. Non-traditional exports were roughly flat at USD 920.5 million^[3].

Import Sources

Merchandise imports rose 31.1% to USD 3.3 billion in the fourth quarter of 2024, from USD 2.5 billion a year earlier, largely on higher petroleum imports^[3]. South Africa was the largest single source, supplying 26.1% of total imports, with China, the United Arab Emirates, Tanzania and India rounding out a top five that together accounted for 60.3% of all merchandise imports^[3].

Trade Agreements

Zambia is a member of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, the Southern African Development Community, the Tripartite Free Trade Area, and the African Continental Free Trade Area^[2][4]. The Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry frames AfCFTA as an opportunity to increase export earnings by tapping into an African market of 54 countries with a combined population of more than 1.3 billion people and purchasing power of about USD 3.4 trillion^[4]. Zambian state-owned enterprises in agriculture export grain to other SADC and COMESA member countries, though the US Department of State notes it is unaware of any Zambian SOEs investing in the United States, and Zambia does not have a bilateral income tax treaty with the United States^[2].

Regulatory Alignment

Zambia’s domestic regulatory system generally aligns with SADC and COMESA frameworks, and the government notifies draft technical regulations to the World Trade Organization’s Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade^[2].

Policy Framework

Zambia’s trade policy is anchored in the National Trade Policy 2018, alongside a complementary set of strategies including the National Export Strategy, the National Industrial Policy, the National Investment Promotion Strategy, the National Local Content Strategy, and the Zambia AfCFTA National Strategy and Implementation Plan, which focuses on integrating micro, small and medium enterprises and cooperatives into regional and continental value chains^[4]. In 2025, the Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development launched a Rapid Assessment Report on Value Addition and Diversification, identifying 412 potential diversification products across 25 sectors, including 73 products linked to critical energy transition mineral value chains, as evidence-based pathways to move the economy beyond raw commodity exports^[5].

Investment Opportunities

The widening gap between Zambia’s fast-growing copper and gold export earnings and its still-rising import bill points to opportunities in import substitution, particularly in the manufacturing and agro-processing capacity the government is separately promoting through its industrialisation strategy^[1]. The 412 diversification products identified across 25 sectors, 73 of them linked to critical energy transition mineral value chains, and the AfCFTA market of 54 countries, point to where export diversification beyond copper is being targeted^[4][5].

Last Update: August 2026

References

1. Bank of Zambia, Zambia Statistics Agency and Zambia Development Agency, Foreign Private Investment and Investor Perceptions in Zambia, 2025
2. US Department of State, 2025 Zambia Investment Climate Statement
3. Bank of Zambia, Direction of Trade Report, Fourth Quarter 2024
4. Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry, Zambia AfCFTA National Strategy and Implementation Plan
5. Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry, Zambia Unveils Roadmap for Industrialization and Economic Diversification