South Africa, China and India are Mozambique’s main trading partners – INE

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South Africa, China and India are Mozambique’s main trading partners – INE

12:57 CAT | 28 Jun 2018

In file CoM

South Africa, China and India were Mozambique’s main trading partners during the first quarter of 2018, according to data from the Mozambican National Statistics Institute (INE).

Both exports and imports increased by 19.7% and 6.0%, respectively, when compared to the same quarter of 2017, according to the summary of the economic situation of INE, according to provisional data on foreign trade.

Of the main products exported from January to March 2018, the highlight goes to aluminum bars and profiles with 23.5%, mineral coal (coke and semi-coke) with 21.4%, coal with 9, 8% and electricity with 6.7%.

On the import side, machinery (18.1%), petroleum gas (8.6%) and cereals (8%) were the highlight products.

The countries with the highest preponderance of trade relations with Mozambique in the period, as exports, were India (30.4%), South Africa (24.0%) and China (7.1%) having as main transaction products: coal, coal coke and semi-coke, petroleum gas and other hydrocarbons, crude aluminum, titanium ores, energy, wood, motor vehicles and banana.

As for imports to Mozambique, South Africa (23.1%), China (10.0%), the Netherlands (9.7%) and India (9.2%) were the main suppliers.

The main products transacted are iron bars, tractors, organic agents, electrical appliances, crude aluminum, petroleum oils and medicines.

Data published by INE indicate that, in the first three months of 2018, the deficit in the trade balance of goods stood at approximately USD 405.5 million (EUR 350.5 million), with a coverage ratio of 74,5%.

The summary of the economic situation of the Mozambican INE for the first quarter of 2018, published this week, also confirms data already published: GDP growth of 3.2% over the same period of 2017, worsening of prices of essential goods 3.3% and 1.9% in relation to the previous quarter.

The economy grew thanks to agriculture, livestock, hunting and forestry (with a GDP weight of 23.5%), trade and repair services (11.5%) and mining and quarrying industry (5.8%), with variations estimated at 3.7%, 4.7% and 9.0%, respectively.

In the domestic money market, the average interest rate of the first quarter of 2018 for active operations stood at 27.3% and that of passive operations at 17.8%, both for a one-year maturity.

In the period under review, the Metical’s performance against the main reference currencies for the country, in year-on-year terms, was marked by an appreciation of 13.2% against the US dollar and of 3.9% against the Rand.

Source: Lusa