Wholesale trade and distribution is concentrated in major towns around the country, including Lusaka, Kitwe, Ndola, Livingstone, Kasama, Solwezi, and Chipata.
Goods destined for Zambia arrive via South Africa (Durban, Port Elizabeth, and East London), Namibia (Walvis Bay), Mozambique (Beira and Nacala), and Tanzania (Dar es Salaam). Durban, Walvis Bay, and Dar es Salaam are the most frequently used seaports. It usually takes about two weeks for goods to transit from the ports in Durban, Walvis Bay, and Dar es Salaam to Lusaka – primarily due to delays at border crossings.
Virtually all imports are transported by truck and enter Zambia through Chirundu and Livingstone (on the Zimbabwean border), Kazungula (on the Botswana border), Nakonde (on the Tanzanian border), and Sesheke (on the Namibian border). Minerals from the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) primarily cross into Zambia at the Kasumbalesa (DRC) – Chililabombwe (Zambia) crossing point. The primary crossing point with Tanzania (TZ) is the Nakonde (Zambia) – Tunduma (TZ) crossing. The volume of imports conducted through airports such as Lusaka’s Kenneth Kaunda International Airport is small relative to land-based imports.
DHL, Mercury Express Logistics, and FedEx offer reliable international delivery services to and from Zambia. International deliveries in the region and to Europe can take between one to four days; it is generally four to seven days to the United States and Canada.
The Zambia Postal Service Corporation has 144 post offices nationwide. It also operates Express Mail Service (EMS), which provides express delivery of letters, documents, and parcels within Zambia – with same-day or up to 48 hours for delivery, depending on distance.
For outgoing shipments, the government requires a customs declaration form and commercial invoice quote in any convertible currency for clearance. The customer service centers and salesclerks at the above cited companies can advise on proper packaging.
For incoming shipments, customs agents may require the recipient to be physically present for the customs examination and to pay any required duty. Any mail items valued above $300 would be assessed by customs officials, who would also charge a certain percentage for the package.
Due Diligence
All U.S. companies should exercise due diligence before doing business in Zambia. The Embassy has the capacity to provide publicly available information about local companies when requested through a U.S. Department of Commerce district office or U.S. Export Assistance Center, or when contacted directly by a U.S. company requesting a for fee International Company Profile (ICP) service. The ICP is the Department of Commerce’s background check on the reliability of potential trading partners. An ICP report includes information on a prospective client including principal owners, year established, size, sales, financial information, trade references, general reputation, type of organization and territory covered, and a personal visit by an Embassy official to give a professional opinion of the company. A U.S. exporter can obtain this information, as well as detailed answers to specific questions about the prospective partner, in a confidential report. In addition, the U.S. Embassy will provide a recommendation on the suitability of the profiled company as a business partner, based on publicly available information. For more detailed investigations into local businesses, local attorneys or business consultants can provide comprehensive assistance in determining the bona fides of a prospective business partner.