Prospera Impact, for people & planetAgFin AtlasAgriculture & agri-finance country profiles
3/9Profile sectionsProduction, trade & prices
1Overview2Agricultural economy & structure3Production, trade & prices4Value chains & market institutions5Climate & sustainability6Agricultural finance7Sustainable finance & green regulation8Policy & legislation9Institutions & programmesβ–€Statistics (data only)βœ“Sources & verification
Zambia Β· Section 3 of 9

Production, trade & prices

Maize accounted for 64.8% of the area planted to surveyed crops other than cassava in 2025/26 and sets the rhythm of the farm year. Soybeans, groundnuts, sunflower, wheat, cassava, sugar cane and tobacco complete the crop mix, and cattle, goats and fish farming are growing. Zambia exported agri-food products worth about US$1 billion a year in 2022–2024, mostly to neighbouring countries, and food inflation fell from 20.6% in February 2025 to 5.8% in September 2026.

3.1

Maize

The Crop Forecast Survey estimated maize production between 2.0 and 3.7 million tonnes in every season from 2010/11 to 2024/25 except the drought season 2023/241234. In 2023/24 farmers planted 2.21 million hectares, but only 684,402 hectares were expected to be harvested and production fell by 53.7% to 1.51 million tonnes5. The post-harvest survey later measured 1.46 million tonnes6. The 2024/25 harvest recovered to 3.87 million tonnes on post-harvest data, and the forecast for 2025/26 is 4.94 million tonnes on 2.36 million hectares planted, of which 4.66 million tonnes from small and medium-scale farms7.

The area planted to maize rose by 74% between 2010/11 and 2025/26, while yields per harvested hectare stayed between 2.2 and 2.8 tonnes17. The survey prints a yield of 4.62 tonnes per hectare planted for large-scale farms in 2025/267. Production growth reflects mainly the larger area, as yields per harvested hectare changed little.

Maize harvest by farm category
Expected production, Crop Forecast Survey, thousand tonnes, 2010/11–2025/26
Source: ZamStats / MoA β€” The 2020/21 workbook gives only the national total (3,620.1 thousand tonnes) and the 2015/16 workbook has no large-scale sheet (total 2,873.1 thousand tonnes). Post-harvest measurements differ from the forecasts, at 1,460.1 thousand tonnes for 2023/24 and 3,865.0 thousand tonnes for 2024/25.
Maize area planted and harvested
Crop Forecast Survey, thousand ha, 2010/11–2025/26
Source: ZamStats / MoA β€” In 2023/24 only 684.4 thousand of the 2,209.2 thousand hectares planted were expected to be harvested. The 2020/21 area is from the comparison sheet of the 2021/22 workbook.
Maize yield
Expected production per hectare harvested, tonnes per ha, 2010/11–2025/26
Source: ZamStats / MoA Β· World Bank WDI β€” Own calculation (production divided by area expected to be harvested), because the printed yields switch between per-area-planted and per-area-harvested bases across seasons. The World Bank's cereal yield for Zambia was 2.32 tonnes per hectare in 2024.
3.2

Other crops

Soybean production rose from 117,000 tonnes in 2010/11 to 760,000 tonnes in 2022/23 and a forecast of 453,000 tonnes for 2025/261177. Groundnuts, sunflower and mixed beans are smallholder cash and food crops. Wheat is irrigated and grown on large farms in the dry season, and its forecast fell from 277,000 tonnes in 2022/23 to 82,000 tonnes in 2025/26177. Seed cotton fell from 270,000 tonnes in 2011/12 to 9,072 tonnes in 2023/24 and a forecast of 1,930 tonnes for 2025/26857. The survey forecasts 3.3 million tonnes of fresh cassava roots for 2025/267. Sugar cane production, which the survey does not cover, reached 4.9 million tonnes in 202419.

Soybeans, groundnuts, sunflower and beans
Expected production, Crop Forecast Survey, thousand tonnes, 2010/11–2025/26
Source: ZamStats / MoA β€” Own rounding of the tonnes printed in each workbook. Soybeans reached a peak of 760.1 thousand tonnes in 2022/23, before the drought season.
Wheat, rice, millet and sorghum
Expected production, Crop Forecast Survey, thousand tonnes, 2010/11–2025/26
Source: ZamStats / MoA β€” Wheat is grown under irrigation in the dry season, almost entirely on large-scale farms, so its production does not follow the rainfall of the main season.
Cotton and tobacco
Expected production, Crop Forecast Survey, thousand tonnes, 2010/11–2025/26
Source: ZamStats / MoA β€” The 2024/25 workbook omits cotton and tobacco and the 2025/26 workbook omits tobacco. The 2025 post-harvest survey put 2024/25 seed cotton at 6,979 tonnes.
Cassava
Cassava root production, Crop Forecast Survey, thousand tonnes, 2010/11–2025/26
Source: ZamStats / MoA β€” The survey estimates cassava from the total area under cassava at a fixed 11.7 tonnes per hectare (the 2024/25 workbook implies about 11.0). The 2013/14 workbook gives no national total, and 2014/15–2016/17 and 2018/19 come from the small and medium-scale sheets.
Sugar cane
Production, FAOSTAT, thousand tonnes, 2010–2024
Source: FAOSTAT β€” Sugar cane is not covered by the Crop Forecast Survey. Several values are FAO estimates.
Crop production, last three seasons (Crop Forecast Survey)
Crop2023/24 (t)2024/25 (t)2025/26 (t)
Maize1,511,1433,655,6464,937,605
Soybeans169,700288,793453,304
Groundnuts87,655101,884149,918
Sunflower44,128115,01170,611
Wheat (irrigated)198,886129,52481,822
Rice (paddy)24,56639,45771,938
Mixed beans38,93738,38250,477
Millet15,39024,13323,606
Sorghum2,86513,79514,046
Seed cotton9,072–1,930
Virginia tobacco14,190––
Burley tobacco6,578––
Cassava (fresh roots)3,127,7783,167,6503,299,829
Source: ZamStats / MoA Β· ZamStats β€” Expected production at the time of each survey. The 2024 Integrated Agriculture Survey measured 2023/24 maize at 1,460,148 tonnes and the 2025 post-harvest survey 2024/25 maize at 3,865,019 tonnes. Workbooks for 2024/25 and 2025/26 omit some cash crops.
3.3

Livestock and fish

The 2023 Livestock Survey counted 5.12 million cattle, 5.57 million goats and 1.61 million pigs, against 3.71 million cattle in the 2017/18 census2021. The 2024 Integrated Agriculture Survey, which used a different design and covered the drought year, counted 3.97 million cattle6. Animal disease is a recurring risk, and anthrax outbreaks in eleven districts of Southern, Western and Eastern provinces led to blanket cattle vaccination in 202322. Milk production reached 525,400 tonnes in 2024 on FAO data19.

Fish farming produced 89,000 tonnes in 2024, against 10,300 tonnes in 2010, while capture fisheries were 108,000 tonnes23. The government estimated a national fish deficit of about 70,000 tonnes a year in 2022, and fish imports, mainly from Namibia, were US$168 million in 20242425.

Livestock herd
Cattle, goats, pigs and sheep, million head, FAOSTAT, 2010–2024
Source: FAOSTAT Β· MFL / CSO Β· MFL / ZamStats Β· MFL β€” From 2017 FAOSTAT follows the 2017/18 livestock census and the 2022 and 2023 livestock surveys. The 2024 Integrated Agriculture Survey counted fewer animals (3.97 million cattle) using a different design.
Meat, milk and eggs
Production, thousand tonnes, FAOSTAT, 2010–2024
Source: FAOSTAT β€” Many values before 2017 are FAO estimates. Cattle meat was 221.9 thousand tonnes in 2024.
Fish capture and aquaculture
Production, thousand tonnes live weight, FAO FishStat, 2010–2024
Source: FAO FishStat Β· MFL β€” Own sums of all species records. The Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock estimated a national fish deficit of about 70,000 tonnes a year in 2022.
19th
Cassava
3.13 Mt world production rank, 2024 (18th in 2023)28
27th
Tobacco
20,768 t world production rank, 2024 (18th in 2023)28
31st
Sugar cane
4.89 Mt world production rank, 202428
33rd
Goats
6.01 million world rank by number, 202428
Livestock numbers from the census and national surveys
Survey (reference date)CattleGoatsSheepPigs
2017/18 Livestock and Aquaculture Census (Jan 2018)3,714,6673,583,696170,2621,082,765
2022 Livestock Survey (30 Apr 2022)4,698,9724,455,860260,5601,160,842
2023 Livestock Survey (30 Apr 2023)5,115,4955,568,730308,3541,613,248
2024 Integrated Agriculture Survey (31 Dec 2024)3,973,7543,767,031234,370668,518
Source: MFL / CSO Β· MFL / ZamStats Β· ZamStats β€” The 2023 survey revised the 2022 counts to 4,940,718 cattle, 5,738,443 goats and 1,766,522 pigs. The 2024 survey uses a different design and covers the drought year, so it is not directly comparable.
Zambia in world production (FAOSTAT)
ItemZambia 2024World rank 2024Share of world 2024World rank 2023
Cassava, fresh (t)3,127,778190.91%18
Sugar cane (t)4,893,717310.25%32
Unmanufactured tobacco (t)20,768270.34%18
Goats (head)6,011,286330.51%36
Soya beans (t)169,700340.04%14
Groundnuts, excl. shelled (t)87,655350.15%25
Maize (t)1,511,143530.12%35
Cattle (head)4,887,687530.31%53
Source: FAOSTAT β€” Own ranking among countries in the FAOSTAT bulk file, excluding regional aggregates. FAOSTAT 2024 corresponds to the drought season 2023/24, so 2023 ranks are also shown.
3.4

Trade

The map shows where Zambia's agri-food products go and where they come from. In 2024 Zambia reported US$1,000.5 million of agri-food exports and US$907.2 million of imports25. Members of the Southern African Development Community took 81.1% of exports and supplied 70.9% of imports. The Democratic Republic of the Congo bought US$431 million, mainly beverages, sugar, flour and bakery products, vegetable oils and dairy products, and South Africa supplied US$388 million25. Tobacco went to South Africa, Switzerland and Malawi, while Namibia supplied most of the imported fish25.

Exports rose from US$533 million in 2019 to more than US$1 billion in 2022–2024, led by tobacco, feed and processed food29. Cereal exports vary with the harvest and with export controls. They were US$220 million in 2015 and US$49 million in 2024, when the drought cut supply and cereal imports reached US$160 million29. Zambia restricted maize exports in the 2024/25 marketing season, introduced quota-based exports in May 2025 and removed the remaining restrictions in April 20263031.

Agri-food trade partners, 2024
Exports and imports of HS chapters 01–24 by partner country, US$ million (UN Comtrade, as reported by Zambia)
Source: UN Comtrade β€” HS chapters 01–24 (live animals to tobacco). Raw cotton (HS chapter 52) is not included. Partner values are as reported by Zambia, and 2024 is the latest year Zambia has reported to UN Comtrade. Small territories without a shape on the 1:110m world map appear only in the ranked list.
Where agri-food exports go
Share of agri-food exports (HS 01–24), 2024
SADC members Β· 81.1 %EU-27 Β· 4.2 %Rest of the world Β· 14.7 %
Source: UN Comtrade β€” Own calculation from UN Comtrade partner data. The Democratic Republic of the Congo alone took 43.1%.
Agri-food trade
Exports and imports of HS chapters 01–24, US$ million, 2015–2024
Source: UN Comtrade Β· World Bank WDI Β· ZamStats β€” Own sums of chapters 01–24 as reported by Zambia. Raw cotton (chapter 52) is not included. Zambia had not reported 2025 to UN Comtrade by October 2026.
Main agri-food export groups
Exports by HS chapter, US$ million, 2015–2024
Source: UN Comtrade β€” Cereal exports, mainly maize, vary with the harvest and with export restrictions. Feed exports consist largely of soybean cake.
What Zambia exports
Agri-food exports by HS chapter, 2024, US$ million (top 10)
Source: UN Comtrade β€” As reported by Zambia to UN Comtrade.
What Zambia imports
Agri-food imports by HS chapter, 2024, US$ million (top 10)
Source: UN Comtrade β€” Fish imports came mainly from Namibia (US$162.9 million) and cereal imports from South Africa, Tanzania and Australia in the drought year 2024.
Main agri-food trade partners, 2024 (US$ million)
RankExport partnerExportsImport partnerImports
1DR Congo431.2South Africa387.9
2Zimbabwe125.3Namibia169.0
3South Africa122.4Argentina41.4
4Switzerland58.3Tanzania36.9
5Tanzania47.8Malaysia32.2
6Malawi42.4Australia31.3
7Kenya30.5Mozambique21.8
8Uganda16.0Zimbabwe20.1
9Botswana13.1India18.2
10Spain12.7Singapore16.0
Total, HS 01–241,000.5Total, HS 01–24907.2
Source: UN Comtrade β€” As reported by Zambia to UN Comtrade. SADC members took 81.1% of agri-food exports and supplied 70.9% of imports (own calculation).
3.5

Prices

Maize and mealie meal prices follow the harvest. After the 2023/24 drought the national average price of a 25 kg bag of breakfast mealie meal rose to K364.37 in March 2025, against K161.16 in September 2022, and fell to K236.34 by September 2026 after the 2025 and 2026 harvests343536. Annual food inflation reached 20.6% in February 2025 and was 5.8% in September 2026, when overall inflation was 6.1%36. Annual average inflation was 15.0% in 2024 and 14.0% in 202537.

Maize and mealie meal prices
National average retail prices, ZMW, September 2022 – September 2026
Source: ZamStats β€” Selected months from the tables of national average prices in the ZamStats monthly bulletin. March 2026 is not shown in the September 2026 table, so February and April 2026 are given.
Inflation month by month
Consumer prices, % change on the same month a year earlier, January 2024 – September 2026
Source: ZamStats β€” Food inflation reached 20.6% in February 2025, a year after the drought, and fell to 5.8% in September 2026, below the Bank of Zambia's 6–8% target band for overall inflation, which was 6.1% in that month.
Inflation, all items and food
Consumer prices, annual average change, %, 2011–2025
Source: MoFNP Β· ZamStats Β· World Bank WDI β€” All items 2017–2025 as published (ZamStats for 2017, Annual Economic Reports for 2018–2025). All items 2011–2016 and all food values are own calculations from the monthly CPI indices (2009 = 100).

Sources cited on this page

  1. Crop Forecast Survey 2010/2011 statistical tables (Excel workbook) β€” Zambia Statistics Agency (ZamStats) and Ministry of Agricultureverified
  2. Crop Forecast Survey 2018/2019 statistical tables (Excel workbook) β€” Zambia Statistics Agency (ZamStats) and Ministry of Agricultureverified
  3. Crop Forecast Survey 2020/2021 statistical tables (Excel workbook) β€” Zambia Statistics Agency (ZamStats) and Ministry of Agricultureverified
  4. Crop Forecast Survey 2024/2025 statistical tables (Excel workbook) β€” Zambia Statistics Agency (ZamStats) and Ministry of Agricultureverified
  5. Crop Forecast Survey 2023/2024 statistical tables (Excel workbook) β€” Zambia Statistics Agency (ZamStats) and Ministry of Agricultureverified
  6. 2024 Integrated Agriculture Survey (IAS) report, reference season 2023/2024 (PDF) β€” Zambia Statistics Agency (ZamStats)verified
  7. Crop Forecast Survey 2025/2026 statistical tables (Excel workbook) β€” Zambia Statistics Agency (ZamStats) and Ministry of Agricultureverified
  8. Crop Forecast Survey 2011/2012 statistical tables (Excel workbook) β€” Zambia Statistics Agency (ZamStats) and Ministry of Agricultureverified
  9. Crop Forecast Survey 2012/2013 statistical tables (Excel workbook) β€” Zambia Statistics Agency (ZamStats) and Ministry of Agricultureverified
  10. Crop Forecast Survey 2013/2014 statistical tables (Excel workbook) β€” Zambia Statistics Agency (ZamStats) and Ministry of Agricultureverified
  11. Crop Forecast Survey 2014/2015 statistical tables (Excel workbook) β€” Zambia Statistics Agency (ZamStats) and Ministry of Agricultureverified
  12. Crop Forecast Survey 2015/2016 statistical tables (Excel workbook) β€” Zambia Statistics Agency (ZamStats) and Ministry of Agricultureverified
  13. Crop Forecast Survey 2016/2017 statistical tables (Excel workbook) β€” Zambia Statistics Agency (ZamStats) and Ministry of Agricultureverified
  14. Crop Forecast Survey 2017/2018 statistical tables (Excel workbook) β€” Zambia Statistics Agency (ZamStats) and Ministry of Agricultureverified
  15. Crop Forecast Survey 2019/2020 statistical tables (Excel workbook) β€” Zambia Statistics Agency (ZamStats) and Ministry of Agricultureverified
  16. Crop Forecast Survey 2021/2022 statistical tables (Excel workbook) β€” Zambia Statistics Agency (ZamStats) and Ministry of Agricultureverified
  17. Crop Forecast Survey 2022/2023 statistical tables (Excel workbook) β€” Zambia Statistics Agency (ZamStats) and Ministry of Agricultureverified
  18. World Development Indicators – Cereal yield (kg per hectare) and land under cereal production (hectares), AG.YLD.CREL.KG, AG.LND.CREL.HA (API, JSON) β€” World Bankverified
  19. FAOSTAT Production: Crops and livestock products, bulk download for Africa (CSV, release of 23 December 2025) β€” Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nationsverified
  20. The 2023 Livestock Survey Report (PDF) β€” Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock and Zambia Statistics Agencyverified
  21. The 2017/2018 Livestock and Aquaculture Census summary report (PDF) β€” Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock and Central Statistical Officeverified
  22. Ministerial statement on anthrax outbreaks in the country, 9 November 2023 (PDF) β€” Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock (statement to the National Assembly)verified
  23. Global fisheries and aquaculture production, FishStat bulk dataset GlobalProduction_2026.1.0 (CSV, March 2026) β€” Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nationsverified
  24. Ministerial statement on the status of aquaculture parks, 6 October 2022 (PDF) β€” Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock (statement to the National Assembly)verified
  25. UN Comtrade – Zambia, agri-food trade (HS chapters 01–24) by partner, 2024 (public preview API, JSON) β€” United Nations Statistics Divisionverified
  26. The 2022 Livestock Survey report (PDF) β€” Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock and Zambia Statistics Agencyverified
  27. Ministerial statement on the 2017/2018 Livestock and Aquaculture Census, 31 July 2019 (PDF) β€” Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock (statement to the National Assembly)verified
  28. FAOSTAT Production: Crops and livestock products, bulk download all countries (CSV, release of 23 December 2025) β€” Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nationsverified
  29. UN Comtrade – Zambia, agri-food trade by HS chapter (01–24), world partner, 2015–2024 (public preview API, JSON) β€” United Nations Statistics Divisionverified
  30. Ministerial statement by Mr Mtolo on the crop yield for 2024/2025 and food balance for 2025/2026, 10 June 2025 (PDF) β€” Ministry of Agriculture (statement to the National Assembly)verified
  31. GIEWS Country Brief Zambia, reference date 30 April 2026 (web page) β€” Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nationsverified
  32. World Development Indicators – Food exports and food imports (% of merchandise exports/imports) and ores and metals exports (% of merchandise exports), TX.VAL.FOOD.ZS.UN, TM.VAL.FOOD.ZS.UN, TX.VAL.MMTL.ZS.UN (API, JSON) β€” World Bankverified
  33. Agricultural Product Past 10 Years Exports and Imports, 2013-2022 (Excel workbook, HS 8-digit, ZMW, USD and net weight) β€” Zambia Statistics Agencyverified
  34. The Monthly, Volume 270, September 2025 (statistical bulletin, PDF) β€” Zambia Statistics Agencyverified
  35. The Monthly, Volume 246, September 2023 (statistical bulletin, PDF) β€” Zambia Statistics Agencyverified
  36. The Monthly, Volume 282, September 2026 (statistical bulletin, PDF) β€” Zambia Statistics Agencyverified
  37. 2025 Annual Economic Report (PDF) β€” Ministry of Finance and National Planning, Republic of Zambiaverified
  38. The Monthly, Volume 249, December 2023 (statistical bulletin, PDF) β€” Zambia Statistics Agencyverified
  39. The Monthly, Volume 258, September 2024 (statistical bulletin, PDF) β€” Zambia Statistics Agencyverified
  40. The Monthly, Volume 261, December 2024 (statistical bulletin, PDF) β€” Zambia Statistics Agencyverified
  41. The Monthly, Volume 273, December 2025 (statistical bulletin, PDF) β€” Zambia Statistics Agencyverified
  42. The Monthly, Volume 237, December 2022 monthly bulletin, national average prices section (PDF) β€” Zambia Statistics Agency (ZamStats)verified
  43. The Monthly, Volume 249, December 2023 monthly bulletin, national average prices section (PDF) β€” Zambia Statistics Agency (ZamStats)verified
  44. The Monthly, Volume 255, June 2024 monthly bulletin, national average prices section (PDF) β€” Zambia Statistics Agency (ZamStats)verified
  45. The Monthly, Volume 261, December 2024 monthly bulletin, national average prices section (PDF) β€” Zambia Statistics Agency (ZamStats)verified
  46. The Monthly, Volume 273, December 2025 monthly bulletin, national average prices section (PDF) β€” Zambia Statistics Agency (ZamStats)verified
  47. The Monthly, Volume 276, March 2026 monthly bulletin, national average prices section (PDF) β€” Zambia Statistics Agency (ZamStats)verified
  48. The Monthly, Volume 282, September 2026 monthly bulletin, national average prices section (PDF) β€” Zambia Statistics Agency (ZamStats)verified
  49. 2024 Annual Economic Report (PDF) β€” Ministry of Finance and National Planning, Republic of Zambiaverified
  50. The Monthly, Volume 176, December 2017 (statistical bulletin, PDF) β€” Zambia Statistics Agencyverified
  51. The Monthly, Volume 117, December 2012 (statistical bulletin, PDF) β€” Zambia Statistics Agencyverified
  52. The Monthly, Volume 140, December 2014 (statistical bulletin, PDF) β€” Zambia Statistics Agencyverified
  53. The Monthly, Volume 237, December 2022 (statistical bulletin, PDF) β€” Zambia Statistics Agencyverified
  54. World Development Indicators – Inflation, consumer prices (annual %), FP.CPI.TOTL.ZG (API, JSON) β€” World Bankverified
  55. The Monthly, Volume 128, December 2013 (statistical bulletin, PDF) β€” Zambia Statistics Agencyverified
  56. The Monthly, Volume 105, December 2011 (statistical bulletin, PDF) β€” Zambia Statistics Agencyverified
β“˜
AI-assisted content, human-reviewed: This page was generated with the assistance of artificial intelligence and reviewed by a human editor. (last review: October 2026) Despite review, errors or outdated values may remain; please verify critical figures against the linked primary sources before relying on them. Nothing here is investment, legal or financial advice.

For more information and suggestions, please contact serkan.veziroglu@prosperaimpact.com.