The Bank of Mozambique (BoM) announced that the country spent 6.4 billion dollars (404.4 billion meticals) on imports of consumer goods alone in the first nine months of 2024, down from 9.1 billion dollars (575.1 billion meticals) in the same period in 2023.
The central bank’s figures emphasise that of the total, the highlight was rice imports worth 353.9 million dollars (22.3 billion meticals).
‘Rice purchases were higher than the total for 2023 (317.7 million dollars); 2022 (288.4 million dollars); 2021 (342.3 million dollars); and 2020 (227.8 million dollars).’
Last year, the government made it known that the country needed to increase rice production from 161,000 tonnes to 355,000 tonnes, with a view to achieving self-sufficiency and reducing imports, thereby strengthening food and nutritional security.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MADER) announced at the time that it was looking for funding to support small family farmers dedicated to rice production. ‘Our endeavour is to look at the issue of rice, as we have seen that consumption of this crop has been increasing and the challenge is to focus efforts on it, towards self-sufficiency, as there are conditions to produce it,’ said Lúcia Luciano, national director of Family Farming.
‘To achieve this goal, the mapping of potential rice producers is underway, as well as the suitable areas located in the provinces of Maputo, Gaza, Sofala, Zambézia and Nampula. In some of these provinces, production based on irrigation, which requires investment, is the main focus,’ he emphasised.