Mozambique; Petromoc admits shortage of foreign currency

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Mozambique; Petromoc admits shortage of foreign currency

8:26 CAT | 21 Mar 2025

File photo: Lusa

A shortage of foreign currency is compromising the import of liquid fuels, according to Helder Chambisse, the chairperson of Mozambique’s publicly owned fuel company, Petromoc.

Cited by the independent television station STV, Chambisse admitted that in recent weeks a number of fuel pumps have run out of both petrol and diesel. He did not give an exact number for the pumps that have been forced to close.

Chambisse said the problem is linked to several factors in the chain of importing and distributing fuel – but the key issue is the shortage of US dollars on the Mozambican exchange market, and the refusal of the banks to extend credit to the importers.

Flatly contradicting claims by the governor of the Bank of Mozambique, Rogerio Zandamela, that there is no shortage of hard currency, Chambisse said “like other importers, we have faced the challenge of the availability of foreign currency”.

Because of the scale of fuel imports, the distributors had to deal with the banks, and the banks were reluctant to grant the banking guarantees demanded by the suppliers. The banks were now dragging their feet in issuing the necessary guarantees.

These delays, said Chambisse, “mean that the product is unloaded, but it stays on financial hold, and cannot be used”.

Mozambican legislation determines that the country must always have stocks of fuel for at least 45 days to cater for any emergency. Chambisse said that this legal requirement is still being respected despite the shortage of foreign currency,

“As for storage, we have sufficient capacity, not only for domestic consumption, but also to supply the countries of the hinterland”, stressed Chambisse, claiming that everything is being done to ensure that Mozambique does not run out of fuel.

He admitted, however, that there could be some shortages in the northern port of Nacala, affecting fuel supplies in the central and northern provinces.

Source: AIM