Mozambican timber exports fall 46.8%

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Mozambican timber exports fall 46.8%

3:04 CAT | 03 Sep 2019

File photo: O País

Exports of timber produced in Mozambique stood at US$31.5 million in 2018, representing a 46.8% decrease compared with 2017 (US$59.2 million), figures released by the National Statistics Institute (INE) indicate.

Without specifying the reasons behind this decline, the INE meanwhile highlights a 37.3% increase in imports of timber, to US$35.5 million in 2018.

It will be remembered that last year the government introduced new rules for the exploitation and export of some species, prohibiting the sale abroad of Chanfuta, Umbila and Jambirre.

Under an order of the Ministry of Land, Environment and Rural Development (MITADER), the three wood species were to be licensed only to supply the domestic market. The same ministerial order also prohibits the logging and harvesting of Nkula, Iron-Wood and Mondzo.

In line with the MITADER measure, the Mozambican Tax Authority (AT) has decided to increase the reference price for processed wood exports by around 300 per cent. The aim, the AT says, is to discourage unbridled exploitation of strategic forestry resources.

Despite these measures, however, wood remains one of the most valuable of Mozambique’s exports, with the Asian market its biggest buyer. And forestry resources are contributing to the increase in the global volume of foreign trade in goods.

In 2018, Mozambique traded products worth around US$12 billion with the rest of the world, compared to the US$10,4 billion registered in 2017, an increase of 14.2%, but still below the highest levels reached in 2013 (US$14.1 billion) and 2014 (US$13.4 billion).

The trade balance deteriorated by US$ 911.7 million, standing at US$1,931.9 million in 2018, down from US$1,020.1 million in 2017 – the most favourable figure ever, according to the INE.

By Edson Arante

Source: O País