(Reuters) – Zambia has suspended a 15% export tax on precious stones and metals in a bid to enhance competitiveness on the global market and draw investment, the finance ministry said on Wednesday.
The southern African country, the world’s second largest emerald producer after Colombia, reintroduced the tax in January 2025 after it was suspended in 2019.
“Zambian precious stones and metals will now be priced more competitively on the global market, thereby attracting greater interest from international buyers and leading to higher sales volumes,” the ministry said in a statement.
In January, Gemfields, which operates the Kagem emerald mine, one of the biggest in the world, warned that the export tax would hurt Zambia’s gemstone sector and asked the government to remove it.
On Wednesday, Gemfields CEO Sean Gilbertson said the Zambian government’s “decisive action” on the export tax would set the industry “back on track”.
Kagem, which accounts for about 25% supply of global rough emeralds, produced about 10 million carats of emeralds and about 30 million carats of beryl in 2024. (This story has been corrected to change the date to Wednesday from Monday in paragraph 5)
(Reporting by Nelson Banya; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
