Mozambique: 80% Of popular alcoholic drinks are counterfeit – AIM

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Mozambique: 80% Of popular alcoholic drinks are counterfeit – AIM

1:23 CAT | 03 Mar 2025

FILE - For illustration purposes only. [File photo: Deadly Vibe]

Mozambique’s National Inspectorate of Economic Activities (INAE) recognizes that around 80 percent of the popular brands of alcoholic drinks circulating in the country are counterfeit and sold at significantly lower prices than the original drinks.

This illegal business is fuelled by networks of corruption that start at the borders and extend to the urban markets, under the conniving eye of various authorities responsible for inspection.

In order to change the scenario, the National Association of Producers and Importers of Alcoholic Beverages (APIBA) has called for awareness campaigns, strengthened legislation and training for inspectors and technicians in order to monitor the popular brands of alcoholic drinks.

INAE director, Ana Rita Freitas, interviewed by AIM, said that her institution faces limitations in combating the phenomenon, since it is currently limited to seizing drinks that do not bear the obligatory customs seal and reporting the problem to the Tax Authority (AT).

“With all due respect, there are a lot of crooks in this area. I began to notice that my team was favoring this inspection because they were making money. The seized alcoholic drinks were stolen and sold on. Even when the merchandise was handed over to the AT, it was not properly accounted for, fuelling the market for counterfeit products”, she admitted.

Freitas believes that the labeling of drinks should have been formally transferred from the AT to INAE in order to establish “institutional clarity in the fight against smuggling.”

“Unfortunately, INAE can’t prove whether a gin or whisky is counterfeit or not. INAE has neither the training nor the equipment to carry out laboratory tests. There is a need to establish collaboration with partners who can provide experts on the matter”, she said.

Because of the failure to take these precautions, she said, the market is saturated with drinks of dubious quality, offered at extremely low prices.

Source: AIM