I
,Friday, ApJi18, 201 1
DAILY TRUST
Busi ness/l nternationa I Zambia Ilvorian cocoa 201 0export earnings exports could up67% resume within on copper boom I
ZAMB~S export earn ings surged more than 67 percent in 2010 as mining companies in Africa's top copper producer expanded output as global prices surged, the trade minister said on Thursday. Felix Mutati told Reuters that Zambia's exports totalled $7.2 billion in 2010, up from $4.3 billion in 2009, mainly due to rising copper production and higher prices. Copper output in Zambia is expected to rise further this year to 900,000 tonnes, from 819,159 tonnes last year, as mining companies boost output. "The high copper production and favourable prices had a very positive impact on our export earnings;' Mutati said. Mutati said export earnings were also boosted by a 50 percent increase in exports of
COCOA exports from Ivory Coast will take a couple of weeks to resunle once incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo steps down and the security in the world's top producer stabilises, shippers say. Fighting in Ivory Coast's capital Abidjan has intensified in recent d ays as forces loyal to presidential claimant Alassane Ouattara tried to unseat Gbagbo and the conflict app eared close to a conclusion on Thursday. "It will take a few weeks, depending on staffing, logistics (for shipments to commence);' sa id Didier Willemse, head of commodity sales at Belgian shipping company Safmarine. EU sanctions against the co untry, an export ban imposed by Ouattara and a .crippled banking system bave brought the Ivorian cocoa industry to a virtual standstill in recent months. Dealers estimate around 500,000 to nnes of cocoa
is stuck in Ivory Coast. "We are waiting for the evolution of the situation. We need the green light from the European authorities;' W illemse said. "Everything will depend on the security situation ... if everything stabilises in terms of secu rity for our operati0hs, exports could recommence." Sonny Dahl, director of West Africa services at Maersk Line, a unit of Danish shipping and oil group A.P Moller-Maersk, said the lead time to deploy ships could be anywhere from 1 to 7 days for exports. "Maersk Line has a high number of weekly services serving the coast of West Africa, so we always have vessels nearby the Ivory Coast ports. We therefore will be able to deploy vessels in to the ports of Abidjan and San Pedro immediately after the EU sanctions have been lifted," he said. (Reuters).
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IVORY Cost Presid ent Alassa ne Quatta ra
products such as flowers, maize
and cement last year. Expanding market share in regions such as the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the Southern African Development Community (SAD C) also helped, he said. "We expect our exports to exceed $7.2 billion in 2011 because both copper production and non-traditional exports are expected to grow;' Mutati said. Copper prices, which hit a record high $10.96 in February, are expected to keep rising this year, helped by fast-growing demand from emerging economies like China. The leading destinations for Zambia's exports were Switzerland, China, South Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo and United Arab Emirates, Mutati said. (Reu ters).
Mauritius business confidence rises in Q1 MAURITIUS' business confidence improved in the first quarter of 2011, lifted by an interest rate cut in the previous quarter and a favourable exchange rate, a survey showed on yesterday. The quarterly survey by the Mauritius Chamber of Commerce and Industry, showed confidence stood at 106.5 points, up from 101.9 points in a similar survey conducted in December. "This improvement can be explained by a renewed dynamism observed since the last quarter of 2010 among local enterprises fol-
lowing the rate cut in September;' Renganaden Padayachy, macroeconomist at the chamber, told a news conference.
He said the rate cut also made the rupee currency more competitive. "Mauritian products were also more attractive due to a favourable cross rate between the Euro and the US dollar during the first quarter;' he said. Europe is the island nation's main export market, accounting for 67 percent of exports. It is also a major source of tourists.
Most of the Indian Ocean Island's imports, like oil and machinery, are denominated in dollars. "In addition, external factors like the increase in the cost of production in China and social unrest in the Middle East bring buyers back to Mauritius," Padayachy said. Ind ustry Minister Showkutally Soodhun said last month total exports will rise steadily over the next two years from 40 billion rupees in 2011 to 50 billion rupees in 2013 as the Indian Ocean Island diversifies
into new products and foreign markets. However, Padayachy warned about the impact of the decision of the central bank last month to raise interest rates by 50 basis points to 5.25 percent to curb inflation. "More than 90 percent of enterprises interviewed during the survey expressed their apprehensions over the impact of the rise in interest rate on their busi路 ness given that they depend a lot on short term loans for their operations;' he said. (Reuters)
SIAfrica's Feb manufacturing output up 6.0% GROWTH in South Africa's manufacturing output qUickened to 6.0 percent yearon-year in volume terms in February compared with a revised 1.6 percent expansion in January, Statistics South Africa said yes terday. A Reuters poll last week showed a consensus of a 3.6 percent year-an-year increase in factory output for February. Compared . with January, production in volume terms rose by a seasonally adjusted 2.3 percent in February and by 3.6 percent in the three months to February, compared with the previous three months. (Reuters).
PRESID ENT Jacob Zuma of South Africa