* Zimbabwe ordered 82,000 tonnes maize
* FRA seals $140 loan with banks to buy maize from farmers
* Zambia expects demand for its maize to increase
By Chris Mfula
LUSAKA, Oct 4 (Reuters) - Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Namibia plan to import maize from Zambia, which has recorded a bumper harvest from the 2009/10 season, the head of Zambia's state-run Food Reserve Agency (FRA) said.
The government has allowed farmers and traders to export a maize surplus of 1.1 million tonnes, mainly to other countries in southern Africa, after Zambia produced 2.7 million tonnes.
"Already we have been approached by Namibia, DRC and Zimbabwe, which are interested in purchasing our excess stock," FRA Executive Director Anthony Mwanaumo said in a statement on Monday.
"So we are not only delighted to meet the needs of our nation, but also to have capacity to assist our fellow African economies in our collective interest of creating food security across the continent."
Mwanaumo said FRA hoped to buy more than 470,000 tonnes of maize from about 300,000 small-scale farmers after commercial banks, led by Standard Chartered's Zambia unit, signed an agreement on Monday with the agency to lend it $140 million.
The first payment of $25 million has been paid to the FRA, and subsequent disbursement would be made over the course of the next few weeks, Mwanaumo said.
FRA spokeswoman Mwamba Siame separately told Reuters the agency had already sold 82,000 tonnes of white maize to Zimbabwe.
"The order was made in August but was only firmed up in the second week of September, and our colleagues in Zimbabwe have not even finished picking up the maize," Siame said.
The Zambia National Farmers' Union (ZNFU) has urged that exports be increased to prop up local prices and ensure high output in the next farming season.
Siame said the price of maize was expected to rise along with demand between October 2010 and February 2011 and that the FRA hoped to raise its exports during this period.
"It's typical for demand in the region to rise, and the price will always be high during this period because the climate of sub-Sahara is not very different. With an exception of those with surplus stock, we expect other countries to import our maize."
(Reporting By Chris Mfula, Editing by Jane Baird)