Africa-Press – Angola. Members of the Association of Producers, Transformers, Traders and Exporters of Ornamental Stones of Southern Angola (APEPA) will, from next April, start exporting by the ton instead of the cubic meter, to avoid false declarations in the process.
Currently, a block of granite weighs an average of 25 tons and dozens of the product are exported daily, through the ports of Namibe, Lobito and Luanda, with China, Spain, Portugal, Poland and some African countries as the main markets.
The information was released, in this city, by the vice-president of the Association, Elias Cipriano, as part of the APEPA Ordinary General Assembly, held on Wednesday, in the city of Lubango.
According to the source, each material will have a price, so a ton of black granite, in the quarry, could cost 50 to 70 dollars, while marble, prices could vary from 100 to 120 dollars/ton, prices already sent to the General Tax Administration and provincial governments for control.
Even without specifying it, Elias Cipriano clarified that it was a higher price than what was charged per cubic meter, at least 50 percent more than the price previously charged.
He declared that prices are secrets of each company and they were unable to measure what each one did, there was unfair competition between companies and only now will there be a minimum guideline for the subsector, to regularize the value of sales in the foreign market and the The State will be able to collect more currency from the area.
“Previously, some companies were not clear and honest in declaring the quantities they exported and the change in cubic meters per ton comes to help this situation and create a barrier so that the situation does not happen”, he reinforced.
He highlighted that it was a measure agreed upon by the participating members of the aforementioned assembly who observed that it was a solution to overcome the malfunctioning of the subsector.
Regarding the Geological Institute of Angola, in Huíla, Elias Cipriano highlighted that it is an asset not only to characterize the miners, but to show the world the organization of the subsector, also appearing to give a concrete description of the product that the company has in prospecting.
He noted that they were going through a difficult time not only in the domestic market, but internationally, because of the construction market and APEPA is providing solutions for the sector, to generate more jobs, have financial stability and promote development.
Among the difficulties were high port fees, the lack of speed in obtaining documents, the issue of public energy and water in the mines, the weak transport capacity of Caminhos de Ferro de Moçâmedes,
He recalled that the rocks in Angola are practically 30 years old and are competing with countries that are more than 200 years old, such as Portugal, China, among others, so they need to reach the same levels.
He considered APEPA, an organization that has existed since 2022, appears to create synergies, see solutions and set goals to be able to reach the same level as countries that have been in the process for more years
The Ordinary General Assembly of APEPA took place under the motto “Production and competitiveness, towards the diversification of the economy”, over a period of six hours and was attended by 21 operators in the subsector, from various parts of the country, with emphasis on Huíla and Namibe.
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