Mozambique: IMF mission visits
Folha de Maputo (File photo)
The National Director of Agriculture, Mohamed Valá argues that an end to tobacco cultivation in the country is possible, but should be approached gradually.
Speaking yesterday in Maputo at a seminar on the WHO Framework Convention for Tobacco Control, Valá said that the elimination of tobacco cultivation should take into account factors such as the contribution the crop makes to state revenues.
In 2015, the state collected about US$250 million from the export of tobacco.
Valá said that in the past two years, the country had produced 93 thousand tons of tobacco, but that levels of production were declining.
The Mozambican government has approved three resolutions ratifying the Tobacco Control WHO framework convention (FCTC), but the document has not yet been submitted to parliament.
The FCTC mandates strict limits on tobacco advertising, sponsorship, production, sale, distribution and taxation in order to protect people from the negative health, social, environmental and economic consequences of cigarette consumption or exposure to cigarette smoke.
The tobacco industry has been identified by the Government of Mozambique as one with vast potential to significantly contribute towards economic development by creating jobs in farming and industrial processing; by contributing to State budget through taxes on imported cigarettes as well as income tax revenue in the manufacturing and distribution chain of local brands of cigarettes. The industry currently provides 150,000 farming jobs, 1,600 industrial processing jobs, 250 manufacturing (although capital intensive) jobs and generates another 400,000 jobs indirectly.
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