By CHATULA KANGALI –

A ZIMBABWEAN agricultural implements manufacturer has expressed interest to open a branch in Zambia.
Mealie Brand, a division of Zimbabwe Stock Exchange-listed Zimplow Holdings, is scheduled to open its first branch in Zambia.
The company is the manufacturer of animal drawn agricultural implements such as the popular ox-drawn plough largely sold on informal markets.
Company representative Xolisani Moyo told the Herald Business at the recently held Agritech International Expo in Chisamba that the company had been exporting its products to Zambia for the past 10 years.
This is according to the Zimbabwean Herald Newspaper online publication.
“We have managed to move quite a bit of volumes to Angola over the last three years but Zambia has remained the biggest in terms of volume and dollar contribution, that’s the reason we want to open a branch in Zambia,” he said.
Mr Moyo however expressed concern to currency losses the company had been incurring due to the stiff competition with alleged counterfeit products being imported from China and India.
He however said the company would lodge a report with the Intellectual Property Police Unit in Zambia on the matter.
According to Zimplow’s results, Mealie Brand’s key export markets to Angola and Zambia were badly affected by the collapse in oil and copper prices respectively.
The Zambian Kwacha fell to around K14 to the United States dollar but has since recovered to about K9.20. Overall revenues at Mealie Brand were down by 50 per cent with exports at 25 per cent last year.