Some wholesale suppliers of goods in Lusaka and Chipata are reported to have stopped trading on credit.
The suppliers are now demanding that retailers pay cash or pay in US dollars due to the volatility of the Zambian Kwacha against other currencies.
Speaking to Breeze News, some traders complained that previously suppliers would give them about one month to pay for supplied goods, but such agreements have been terminated.
And some traders in Chipata are reported to have formed a cartel in price fixing, mainly because of the poor performance of the Kwacha.
The traders close shops and change prices at short notice immediately when they get information that the Kwacha has suffered depreciation.
Meanwhile the Zambian Kwacha seems to have appreciated against other convertible currencies yesterday, trading at 10 Kwacha 80 Ngwee against the US dollar.
A check by Breeze Business News at 16:40 hours, found the British Pound trading at 16 Kwacha 39 Ngwee while the Euro was trading at 12 Kwacha.