Mozambique is awaiting approval of the tariff offer to start trading in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). According to the newspaper Notícias, the final decision will be taken later this quarter during the next Extraordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government of African countries.
According to Ali Mussa, deputy director of Foreign Trade, a body is being set up to ensure the definitive implementation of the agreement, which aims to bring benefits and speed up commercial transactions.
‘Mozambique is committed and in the process of formalising the National Implementation Committee, involving all the players in the foreign trade ecosystem. Its operationalisation should begin this quarter,’ he said.
He described the country’s customs offer as having a progressive liberalisation structure, pointing out that products are classified into categories ‘A’ (live animals – cattle and pigs and breeding stock – vegetables, fishing boats and shrimp feed), ‘B’ (eggs and ornamental fish) and ‘C’ (sugar, cereal flour, beans and tomatoes).
Mussa clarified that for category ‘A’, the opening will take place over ten years, while for category ‘B’ it will take place over 13 years. ‘The state decided to protect category B and C products in order to safeguard the sector’s competitiveness,’ he continued.
In August 2024, the government approved the tariff offer and the national strategy for implementing the agreement creating the African Continental Free Trade Area, with the aim of granting Mozambique access to the AfCFTA adjustment fund.
‘The fund aims to assist state parties in the implementation of the AfCFTA agreement, with the aim of limiting any negative impacts that may result from the implementation of the agreement,’ the government said in a statement at the time.
The approval also allowed the country to start using the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), provided by the African Export-Import Bank in partnership with the AfCFTA Secretariat. This system facilitates intra-African commercial transactions for companies on the continent.
In 2023, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) stated that the creation of the AfCFTA could lead to an increase of more than 50 per cent in trade between the continent’s countries and that, once operational, it would also have a significant effect on trade between Africa and the rest of the world, with a 29 per cent increase in exports and a 7 per cent increase in imports.
