Mozambique: Imports fell 66.1% in Q1 to $2.1 billion – central bank

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Mozambique: Imports fell 66.1% in Q1 to $2.1 billion – central bank

2:40 CAT | 08 Aug 2023

File photo: VOA

Mozambique registered a fall of 66.1% in imports of goods to a total of US$2.1 billion in the first quarter of this year, against US$4.6 billion registered in the same period of 2022.

The data appear in the quarterly Balance of Payments Bulletin (BoP), released last Wednesday (02-08) by the central bank and consulted by Diário Económico.

According to the document, the reduction in imports from Large Projects was reflected in this result by 94.8%, compared to an increase in the import bill of the rest of the economy by 28.9%.

According to the Bank of Mozambique, in terms of categories of goods, including Large Projects, the highlight goes to intermediate goods, which cost the country US$803.5 million, representing a weight of 38.8% of total imports.

“Contributing mainly to the aggravation, the expenses incurred with the acquisition of fuels increased by 54.8%, manure and fertilizers by more than 100%, cement and tar and bitumen by 51.8% and 5.4%, respectively. In turn, electricity with 14.4%, raw aluminium with 11% and construction materials with 11.5% pushed downwards,” the report explains.

Consumer goods, in turn, with a weight of 24.6% of the total import bill, grew by 4.3%, reaching US$509.1 million, with emphasis on increases in imports of wheat, automobiles, beer and other alcoholic beverages and frozen fish, with a weight of 50.8%, 14.5%, 19.8% and 6.6%, respectively.

The central bank bulletin also explains that capital goods, with a contribution of 17.9% of total imports, registered a decrease of around 92%, presenting a quarterly flow of US$370.4 million, justified , essentially due to the 92.3% reduction in the import of various machinery, with emphasis on Large Projects, which in the first quarter of 2022 had the registration of the operation of the Coral Sul FLNG floating platform in Area 4 of the Rovuma basin.

South Africa was the main country of origin of Mozambican imports, with a weight of 23.2% of the total, which corresponds to US$481 million, followed by China, United Arab Emirates, India and Singapore, with 14.4%, 12.7%, 7.4%, and 5.9% respectively of the total weight of the country’s import expenditure.

Source: Diário Económico