The Bank of Mozambique (BoM) has announced that the cost of fuel imports will stand at 1.1 billion dollars (69.5 billion meticals) in 2024, representing a 15% reduction compared to the 1.4 billion dollars (88.4 billion meticals) recorded in 2023.
According to a statistical report from the central bank, this performance accompanies the fall in the Mozambican economy of 4.87 per cent year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2024, a period marked by post-election protests in the country.
‘The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at market prices showed a negative variation of 4.87 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2024, when compared to the same period in 2023, totalling an annual accumulated of 1.85 per cent,’ it said.
In addition to the impacts of climate change, with severe droughts and cyclones battering the country, the document also admits ‘the negative impact of the post-election demonstrations in the last quarter of 2024’, which affected economic and social activities.
The data recalls that between 2020 and 2021, fuel imports cost 541.8 million dollars and 946.9 million dollars respectively. The highest figure in recent times was in 2022, when the figure stood at 1.9 billion dollars.
The country has been facing a fuel supply crisis in recent days, associated with a lack of foreign currency on the market, which led the Bank of Mozambique to announce measures to boost the availability of foreign currency to cover import needs.
In June 2023, the BoM announced that it would stop co-paying the country’s foreign fuel import invoices, considering that the amounts could already be borne by the commercial banks.
