Zambia’s Trade Surplus Jumps to K3.5 Billion in April

Zambia has recorded a trade surplus of 3.5 billion Kwacha in April 2026 according to the recent International Merchandise Trade report released by the Zambia Statistic Agency (ZamStas). This marks a significant increase from the 900 million Kwacha surplus recorded in March earlier this year.

General Sheila Mudenda, Zamstat statistician says total exports increased by 1.5% from 25 billion Kwacha in March to 25.4 billion Kwacha.  This growth was driven by export earnings from raw materials and capital goods.

Ms Mudenda also noted that imports declined by 9.3%, from 24.1 billion Kwacha in March to 21.9 billion Kwacha in April. This was due to reduced import bills for consumer goods and raw materials.

She added that the total trade between January and April 2026 was 195.7 billion Kwacha, a 9.5% decline when compared to the 216.1 billion Kwacha recorded over the time period in 2025.

Notably, road transport remained the dominant mode for exports accounting for more than 96% of export value at 101.3 billion Kwacha. Air transport contributed 2.3 billion Kwacha, while rail transport accounted for 400 million Kwacha.

Meanwhile, traditional export earnings such as copper exports declined by 6.8%, despite the drop, traditional exports remained relevant accounting for 64.4% of total exports.

At the same time, non-traditional exports increased by 20.9% to 9 billion Kwacha in April from 7.5 billion Kwacha in March.

The report further revealed that export earning from refined copper fell by 7.2% to 16.1 billion Kwacha in April, as export volumes declined from 68.6 thousand metric tonnes in March to 64.3 thousand metric tonnes in April.

Canada was Zambia’s largest export destination in April 2026 making up 36.1% of total export earnings, followed by the Democratic Republic of Congo at 14%, and China at 13%.

In non-traditional exports, the Democratic Republic of Congo remained Zambia’s leading contributing 39.3% of total non-traditional export earnings.

The latest figures reflect continued resilience in Zambia’s trade sector, supported by growth in non-traditional exports and improving trade balances.