Business
Exports to drive Zambian economy – Musokotwane
Zambia's economic growth over the next five years will be driven by exports, the country's finance minister has said, as the government seeks to boost production and tackle poverty.
Picture: Times of Zambia
Finance and National Planning Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane says the economic growth in the next five years will be driven by exports, in line with the Grow Zambia Agenda.
Speaking during the 2026 combined second and Third Quarter National Development Coordinating Committee (NDCC) meeting in Lusaka yesterday, Dr Musokotwane said without export expansion it would be difficult to grow the economy as the population was growing.
He said exports must be seen more fundamentally as a way of expanding the economy.
“So exports should not just be seen in the framework of earning more foreign exchange. Without export expansion, it’s difficult to get the economy to grow because populations grow. When you say three million tonnes of soya beans, we can’t eat that, but it’s good for the farmers to grow so that the surplus is exported,” Dr Musokotwane said.
And Dr Musokotwane said the continuous increase in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as outlined by the Zambia Statistics Agency should continue for the country to fight poverty.
Lakatips
The morning briefing
Zambia’s news, before your first meeting
One email each morning with the headlines that matter, from every newsroom we follow. Free, and one click to stop.
“The 2025 GDP growth rate which is now 5.4 per cent instead of 3.8 per cent earlier estimates that we were working on is very significant. In the last five years, year after year we have seen our economy expanding.
“And indeed this is what we should see happening if we want to fight poverty, we want more development in our country, it will not come from magic, it will come from us producing more and more,” he said.
He said if inflation consistently moves downwards, the high cost of living would be arrested.
“And this is part of the answer to the issue of the high cost of living. Inflation going down is a very important answer to addressing the issue of the high cost of living because the fact that when inflation is rising high, eventually the cost of living becomes high. So when inflation comes down, it means the cost of living is being arrested,” Dr Musokotwane said.
He said he was excited with the preliminary numbers for growth for the second quarter of 2026.
“When we compare where the GDP is today and where it was at the end of June 2026, the GDP has grown by 7.2 per cent which is even better than last year.
“We will see how it performs by the end of the year, but if this trend continues it means the growth for 2026 will be better than what it was in 2025. This is something that should excite all of us,” he said.
Source: Times of Zambia — Read more
More to read
All Business →
HH Targets Doubling Zambias Economy
President HAKAINDE HICHILEMA has set an ambitious target of more than doubling the size of...
Govt Calls for Business Support on 24-Hour Economy
Government says stronger collaboration with the private sector will be critical to...
China’s Extraordinary Economic Rise: From $361 Billion to a $21 Trillion Economy
In the 1990s, Germany’s economy was roughly four times larger than China’s. Today, in 2026, China’s economy is several times larger than Germany’s, highlighting one of the most dramatic economic transformations of the modern era. Over roughly 36 years, China’s nominal GDP