South Africa was Mozambique’s largest trading partner in Q1

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South Africa was Mozambique’s largest trading partner in Q1

2:13 CAT | 24 Jun 2020

File photo: O País

Mozambique’s trade deficit stood at US$908.3 million in the first quarter of this year – the amount by which the country’s imports exceeded the volume of exports in the period.

Between January and March 2020, the volume of Mozambican imports stood at approximately US$1.9 billion, against US$999.1 million in exports, resulting in a trade deficit of around US$908.3 million at the end of the first quarter.

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In its overview of foreign trade before the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic in Mozambique, the National Statistics Institute (INE), indicates that purchases increased by 9% compared to the first quarter of 2019, especially of machinery, with a weight of 18.1%, cereals (8.7%) and diesel (8.1%).

Mozambique exports during the same period decreased by about 21.9%, with aluminium bars accounting for 23.1%, coal 19.5%, electricity 15.5% and natural gas 6.8%.

In terms of countries standing out in trade relations with Mozambique, in the first quarter of 2020, neighbouring South Africa purchased the most products (23.3% of Mozambique’s total exports), followed by India (12.3%), China (4.3%) and The Netherlands (1.8%).

Regarding imports, South Africa stands out with 23.1%, followed by India (10.2%), China (8.5%) and the United Arab Emirates (7.5 %).

The Mozambican economy grew by around 1.68% in the first quarter of 2020, with a recession resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic expected in the coming quarters.

According to the INE, results were influenced most by the electricity, gas and water sector (6.5%),and transportation, storage, information and communications (5%), in contrast to the extractive industry trend (-11.5 %) and the hospitality sector (-1.4%).

By Edson Arante

Source: O País