The Ambassador of Brazil in Mozambique, Ademar Seabra da Cruz Júnior, expressed this Wednesday, June 14, during the opening of the debate on the “Challenges of the World Economy in 2023 and its Impact on Mozambique,” organised by Moza Banco, the interest of his country in establishing more partnerships in the sectors of agriculture, energy and pharmaceutical industry in Mozambique.
“This sister country has a productive area that is a little larger compared to that of Brazil (10%), having over 50% of its territory favourable to agriculture. However, only a very small part is used. We (Brazil) have had great development in cooperative family farming and subsistence agriculture, which has experienced (or accompanied) productivity shocks that other still emerging countries are experiencing,” Ademar Júnior began by explaining, for whom “Brazil is ready to join hands with Mozambique to exploit this enormous agricultural potential, which is often superior in terms of fertility and composition.
The Brazilian ambassador said that Mozambique also had potential, however, under-exploited, in the area of pharmaceutical production, and thus, “we want to offer our partnership to Mozambique in this area, bearing in mind that a request has already been made in this regard, and Brazil is ready to cooperate with great pride,” he said.
The head of Brazilian diplomacy in Mozambique also spoke of tourism, believing that “Brazil has much more to learn from its brother country (Mozambique), as it has done a fast and fascinating job.
Decarbonisation, which is a hot topic these days, due to the urgent need to make the transition from the use of fossil fuels to clean energy in order to reduce the human footprint of climate change and global warming, also merited the diplomat’s attention. “We know that the world, now, is looking to switch from hydrocarbons to clean energy. This issue of decarbonisation will not happen overnight. And this, in some way, may benefit Mozambique, since it registers several projects in the oil area,” he pointed out.
Data from the Brazilian Foreign Ministry, in the document, “How to Export Mozambique” for 2021, consulted by DE, showed that Mozambique’s imports from Brazil, in 2021, totalled US$33.5 million, or 0.5 percent of total imports.
According to the document, Mozambique imported the following products from Brazil: mineral fuels, mineral oils and products of their distillation; mineral waxes (15.2 percent), animal or vegetable fats and oils; prepared edible fats; waxes of animal or vegetable origin (14.4 percent), meat and edible offal (11.7 percent), nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery, appliances and mechanical instruments and their parts (6.5 percent); inorganic or organic compounds of precious metals, of radioactive elements, of rare earth metals or of isotopes (5.7 percent).
As for Brazil, the document points out that imports from Mozambique were about 38.8 million in 2020, compared to 112 million the previous year. Mineral fuels, mineral oils and products of their distillation, bituminous substances and minerals are the main category with an average weight of 96% in the last five years. Over this period, and accounting for practically all Brazil’s imports, we find tobacco and manufactured tobacco substitutes, with an average of 3.5%.
It should be noted that renowned national and international specialists took part in the debate, meeting to share their views on the current economic scenario and implications for the country. The event was the result of a partnership with the Dom Cabral Foundation (FDC), considered the 7th largest business school in the world and number 1 in Latin America, Moza Banco, the University Foundation for the Development of Education (FUNDE) and the Polytechnic University.
