By CHATULA KANGALI, MILDRED  KATONGOand HELEN ZULU  –
LUANSHYA shoprite branch manager Bruce Mapiki said the closure of Baluba mine has resulted in the chain store losing up to 20 per cent sales.
Mr Mapiki was speaking in an interview during the 20 years clebrations of shoprite’s existence in Zambia.
He said that since the mine was a major employer in Luanshya, Shoprite has felt the impact of the closure.
“We depend so much on the miners  as they were the majority who come to buy from here, we have so far lost up to 20 per cent of our monthly sales,” Mr Mapiki said.
Over 1,000 mine workers in Luanshya were placed on leave last month by mine management who put the mine under care and maintanance.
At the same function, Luanshya District Commisssioner Harold Mbaulu urged Shoprite management to consider ordering vegetables from local farmers.
In Ndola, Shoprite Kafubu mall branch manager, Jameson Simemba, says that the chain store has increased the number of local suppliers of commodities from five to 80.
“Building on the promises with our clients, we have had a good working relation ship with Government and we have increased the number of local suppliers to almost 80, especially in the vegetable and fruit. We are trying hard to accommodate everyone,” he said.
Mr Simemba further announced that the chain store had slashed prices between 25 and 30 per cent on selected items, adding that the gesture was to thank  all members of the public for doing business with Shoprite.
Meanwhile, Shoprite Matero branch acting branch manager Mwewa Muswema said in Lusaka yesterday that the company was planning to open three more stores in Mongu, Chingola and Lusaka’s Makeni area.
Ms Muswema noted that products supplied by local farmers were of quality just like those that had been imported.
She said there was need to support local farmers to grow by buying from them because this would in turn add value  to the agriculture sector and the country’s economy at large.