Zambia Seals 540,000-Tonne Maize Deal With Kenya’s Baita Trading

The Food Reserve Agency (FRA) has signed a contract with Kenya’s Baita Trading Company Limited for the export of 540,000 tonnes of white grade A non-genetically modified maize, opening a major new outlet for Zambia’s record harvest. The agreement, signed at Cabinet Office in…

The Food Reserve Agency (FRA) has signed a contract with Kenya’s Baita Trading Company Limited for the export of 540,000 tonnes of white grade A non-genetically modified maize, opening a major new outlet for Zambia’s record harvest.

The agreement, signed at Cabinet Office in Lusaka, will see the maize shipped in six batches over three months, with 100,000 tonnes moving every 90 days until the full quantity is delivered.

Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet for Finance and Economic Development Siazongo Siakalenge said the deal will help Zambia earn foreign exchange while creating a reliable market for farmers’ produce. He said agricultural export earnings had already risen to more than US$1.1 billion last year, up from US$967 million in 2024, with the Kenya deal expected to push that growth further in the current year.

“The maize surplus will generate foreign exchange and contribute to stabilising the Kwacha, while increased production has ensured sufficient food for domestic consumption,” Mr Siakalenge said.

He added that securing export markets is now as important to Zambia’s agricultural ambitions as increasing production itself, particularly as the country pursues a target of raising annual maize output to 10 million tonnes.

Baita Trading director Martin Kinoti said the company is a private-sector buyer and does not represent the Kenyan government. He said the firm will now focus on implementing the agreement, which he described as a step toward meeting food requirements in the Kenyan market while strengthening agricultural trade relations between the two countries.

FRA board chairperson Suresh Desai said the agency will execute its obligations transparently and with integrity to ensure the agreement succeeds. He confirmed the contract covers the supply of up to 540,000 tonnes of Grade A white non-GMO maize, with pricing to be agreed between FRA and Baita Trading at the start of each shipment based on prevailing regional market conditions.

Mr Desai described the agreement as an important commercial opportunity for Zambia, saying it would help strengthen confidence in the quality of the country’s agricultural produce and support wider efforts to grow export markets. He said the deal is expected to move the maize to Kenya over the three-month contract period, offering an immediate outlet for part of the country’s substantial surplus while supporting farmers and the broader agricultural value chain.

The export comes on the back of a bumper harvest of more than 5.1 million tonnes, Zambia’s largest during the last farming season, which has left the country with significant maize available beyond domestic needs.

Meanwhile, the FRA in Northern Province has already paid K313 million to 9,079 farmers who supplied maize during the 2026 crop marketing season. The province has so far disbursed K312,999,899 for 902,017 by-50-kilogramme bags, with the provincial administration confirming that all funds received for farmer payments have been fully disbursed.

The Kenya agreement forms part of a broader push under the Grow Zambia Agenda to expand agricultural exports and boost farmer incomes, with Government pursuing a wider set of production targets that include raising maize output to 10 million tonnes annually by 2031.

Officials say the arrangement demonstrates the kind of private-sector-led export activity Government wants to encourage as it seeks to convert record production into sustained economic gains, both for the Treasury and for the farmers who supplied the crop.