Your Excellency Dr. Edgar Chargwa Lungu, President of the Republic of Zambia,

Honorable Mr. Michael Katambo, Minister of Agriculture,

Honorable Mr. Joseph Malanji, Minister of Foreign Affairs,

Honorable Mr. Bowman Lusambo, Minister of Lusaka Province,

Honorable Ministers and Members of Parliament,

Permanent Secretaries and Senior Government Officials,

Your royal highness and your royal chieftainness,

Mr. Graham Rae, Proprietor, Zambezi Berry Company Chongelo Farm

Friends from the Media,

Ladies and Gentlemen, Good afternoon!

I am delighted to attend the Flagging Off Ceremony of the Inaugural Export of Zambian Fresh Blueberries to China. Please allow me to extend my warm congratulations to the Ministry of Agriculture of Zambia and the Zambezi Berry Company .

With the concerted efforts of our two sides, the Protocol of the Phytosanitary Requirements for Export of Zambian Fresh Blueberries to China between the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China and the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Zambia was signed on September 7th 2020. Exporting the Zambian grown fresh blueberries to China is a fresh story for agriculture cooperation between the two countries. It will contribute a lot to the promotion of the bilateral economic and trade cooperation and the development of friendly relations between China and Zambia.

Your Excellency, ladies and gentleman,

China and Zambia have already obtained fruitful achievements in agricultural cooperation. Not far away from here, the Zambia Agriculture Technology Demonstration Center, which is supported by China, has provided training opportunities to thousands of Zambian technicians and farmers, and carried out productive cooperation in areas of agricultural research and education with the University of Zambia and other research institutions. Chinese enterprises have also taken the opportunities to invest in the agricultural sector in Zambia. For example, The Johnken Farm which is invested by a Chinese state-owned company in December 1993, has now become a flagship and a token of the Chinese-Zambian cooperation in agriculture. It has produced abundant agricultural products for domestic markets and created hundreds of job opportunities for the local people. Another very successful story of our cooperation in agriculture is the export of Zambian honey to China. The honey export protocol was signed by Zambia and China during the Forum on Africa-China Cooperation (FOCAC) Beijing summit in September 2018. And this organic honey from Zambia is becoming very popular among the Chinese customers and even though the price of this Zambia honey is very high in China, the demand for honey from Zambia is still on the rise. According to very recent information, at the just concluded 3rd China International Import Expo which was held in Shanghai last week, the exporters of Zambia honey had signed contracts with Chinese importers a trade volume of 30 million US Dollars. To us this is very encouraging development. And we would certainly like to see that more quality agricultural products of Zambia would land in the Chinese market. We are still making greater efforts to promote the exporting of Zambian agricultural products to China, such as beef and lamb. The export of soybean cake from Zambia to China is undergoing the access procedures of inspection and quarantine and is expected to be realized next year.

Your Excellency, ladies and gentleman,

Despite the negative impact of COVID-19 Pandemic, Chinese companies in Zambia have overcome tremendous difficulties to resume work while adhering to health and quarantine guidelines. A large number of key cooperation projects in energy, infrastructure, people’s livelihood and manufacturing sectors have achieved remarkable progress. The China-aided Mpika Urban Road Project has been completed successfully. The Levy Mwanawasa Hospital new wing was completed in the first half of this year and was designated by the Zambian government as COVID-19 diagnostic and treatment hospital. The Lower Kafue Gorge Hydropower station is expected to start generating power by the end of this year. The constructions of the Kenneth Kaunda International Airport and the Ndola International Airport are going forward in an orderly manner. The China-aided Milling Plants and Mulungushi International Conference Center are implemented on schedule. When the Mulungushi International Conference Center is completed, the facility will provide Zambia with a modern first-class international conference facility to host the 2022 African Union Summit and other international events, as well as important public functions in the years to come. It will also enhance the exhibition capabilities and national image of Zambia. These projects fully demonstrate the responsibility of the Chinese companies and the cooperation between the Chinese and Zambian governments in going out of the difficult time together.

Your Excellency, ladies and gentleman, Zambia is endowed with favorable natural conditions. Its mild climate and abundant sunshine, the fertile land and the third-largest water reserve on the African continent, make the country very agreeable for human settlement and agricultural development. Meanwhile, as the world's largest consumer market, China is also the world's largest agricultural importer. China has a population of 1.4 billion and a middle-income population of over 400 million. The vastly huge China market is the most promising in the world. The total import into China is estimated to top 22 trillion US dollars in the coming decade. Just for your information, ladies and gentlemen, as a preferential treatment, more than 95% of Zambian products are granted duty free access to the Chinese market. I believe that many more Zambian companies will take advantage of the good opportunities and export more high quality agricultural products to China. The agricultural cooperation between China and Zambia will have a very bright future! I wish therefore to take this opportunity to extend to the Zambezi Berry Company my best wishes for bright prospects. It is my firm belief that the company will provide quality products to Chinese customers and create more jobs for Zambians. To our friends in Zambia from different sectors, please let me assure you that we will continue to work together with you to support and promote exporting quality Zambian products to China.

Thank you!