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Mozambique: Rice imports hit record $441M in 2024
11:31 CAT | 10 Apr 2025
FILE - For illustration purposes only. [File photo: Lusa]
Mozambique imported a record US$441 million (€400 million) of rice in 2024, increasing by 38.8% compared to 2023, according to central bank data compiled on Thursday by Lusa.
According to a statistical report by the Bank of Mozambique, the cost of these imports compares with US$317.7 million ( €287.8 million) in 2023 and is well above the most recent previous record, in 2021, of US$342.3 million (€310.1 million).
In consumer goods alone, Mozambique imported more than US$8.211 billion (€7.434 billion) in 2024, the lowest figure in the last three years and which still compares with the US$8.276 billion (€7.493 billion) in 2023, according to the same report.
Mozambique’s production of the main cereals fell in 2023, namely maize, which fell by 11% in one year, and rice, which fell by 34%, according to previous data from the National Statistics Institute (INE).
According to the INE report, which details the production of the main cereals in Mozambique, the country produced 2,124,749 tonnes of maize in 2023, compared to 2,382,511 tonnes in 2022.
Even so, this is higher than in previous years – with the exception of 2022 – which according to INE was 1,836,925 tonnes of maize in 2021, 1,632,321 tonnes in 2020 and 1,451,686 tonnes in 2019.
The province of Tete led the way in maize production in 2023, with 501,080 tonnes, followed by Manica, both in the centre of the country, with 398,619 tonnes.
Mozambican rice production fell in 2023 to 161,829 tonnes, compared to 245,792 tonnes the previous year. This production was still the lowest in the last five years, according to the historical data provided by INE.
The province of Zambézia, in the centre of the country, led Mozambique’s rice production in 2023, with 48,537 tonnes, followed by Gaza, in the south, with 40,946 tonnes.
The INE report also pointed to falls in the production of two other reference cereals in the country, sorghum, which fell by 15% to 139,553 tonnes in 2023, and millet, which fell by 32% to 17,098 tonnes
Source: Lusa
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