The government aims to reduce external dependence on basic foods by strengthening agribusiness and the local processing of agricultural, mining, and forestry products. The measure seeks to create jobs, increase national production capacity, and balance the trade deficit, which is under pressure from rising imports.
According to the Secretary of State for Trade, António Grispos, Mozambique imports annually 500,000 tons of rice, 725,000 tons of maize, and large volumes of soy and wheat, representing a bill of over 37.8 billion meticais ($600 million).
“A country cannot survive on imports. This shows we are producing far too little. With 15 million hectares of arable land, it is inconceivable that we continue to import maize and soy for animal feed,” Grispos emphasized.
The official highlighted that national production could replace a large part of these imports. “Wheat has already been trialed in Lichinga and rice in several regions. There was just no continuity. We have enough land and the conditions to supply the country and reduce the trade deficit,” he stated.
Grispos also stressed the need to process products locally before export. “In recent years, we have lost between 15,000 and 20,000 workers in the cashew sector because it was cheaper to export raw than to process in Mozambique. No responsible government can remain indifferent. We will propose immediate measures, penalizing raw exports and encouraging local processing,” he announced.
The Secretary of State also pointed to structural obstacles, such as difficult access to agricultural credit and the poor condition of transport routes. He explained that the government is studying alternatives, such as warehouse receipts and off-take contracts, which would allow producers to use their products as collateral.
“If we do not accept Mozambicans as the first line in commercialization, everything will remain just a political slogan,” he stressed.
Regarding infrastructure, Grispos highlighted the urgency of rehabilitating strategic transport routes, considered more important than some sections of the N1, such as Angónia-Tsangano-Macanga (Tete), Alto Molócuè-Malema (Zambézia/Nampula), and roads in Sussundenga (Manica). He also advocated strengthening the national railway network, noting that “it is not normal that transporting goods from Beira to Maputo by train requires passing through Zimbabwe.”
The National Integrated Marketing Policy is currently being drafted. The document is expected to be approved by December and will result from a broad debate between the government, producers, banks, and business associations.
Source: Mozambican News Agency (AIM)
