At least 23,000 jobs in the alcoholic beverage value chain have been lost in the country as a result of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Association of Producers and Importers of Alcoholic Beverages (APIBA) says that if the restrictions imposed on the sector in light of Decree 24/2021, of April 26, are prolonged, the scenario could worsen, putting the sustainability of the sector at risk.
In a press conference yesterday in Maputo, APIBA president Francisco Júnior explained that since the pandemic started in March last year, the beverage industry has lost about 30% of the market.
“We are talking about a loss of about one million hectoliters for an existing market in Mozambique of about 3 million hectoliters,” he said.
The source added that the scenario happens in a context in which considerable investments have been made in the sector, totaling about 300 million dollars, including the recently inaugurated factory of the company Cervejas de Moçambique, in Marracuene, in Maputo province, budgeted at 180 million dollars.
“That is the reality and that is why we are clamoring for a gradual opening, specifically for the ‘bottle stores’, warehouses and supermarkets, that sell for consumption at home. This will allow us to safeguard the jobs that still exist, as well as our tax contribution.”
According to him, the impacts of the pandemic extend to the beverage industry’s connection with the agricultural sector, as it is supplied with raw materials such as corn, sugar, cassava and other domestically produced products.
“This is a scenario that not only harms the entire beverage production chain but also the state itself, since this is one of the sectors that contributes the most to tax revenue,” he stressed.
