Africa-Press – Mozambique. The Mozambican government has created a multi-sectoral commission to manage restrictions on the import of certain products, Secretary of State for Commerce António Grispos announced on Tuesday, 30 December.
“There is a commission that will work in the sector. It is multi-sectoral, led by the Secretary of State for Commerce, and includes members from the Ministry of Economy, various directorates, the Tax Authority, and the private sector as well,” António Grispos said.
According to the Secretary of State for Commerce, the commission will discuss the management of restrictions, the volumes, the types of items entering and leaving Mozambique, the timing of their application, and the coordination of other efforts needed by various entities to improve logistics and security.
On 16 December, the Mozambican government announced a temporary limitation on the import of certain products. In the table published by the Ministry of Economy on 17 December, the products subject to restrictions—without clarified quantities or formats—included edible poultry meat and offal, rice and sugar not packaged for retail sale, refined palm oil for food, bottled water and carbonated drinks, pasta, salt and sodium chloride, Portland cement, tiles, maize flour, beer, wooden and metal furniture, paper and cardboard products, non-alcoholic beverages and soft drinks, wheat, and maize grain.
According to the spokesperson for the Council of Ministers, Inocêncio Impissa, the measure, announced on 16 December, aimed to “safeguard Mozambique’s external position and ensure the priority allocation of foreign currency to the import of essential goods and services, as well as make the emerging Mozambican industry more competitive.”
“This decision also aimed to promote domestic production and encourage national production to substitute non-essential imports,” Impissa added at the time, noting that the government expected the measure to “help safeguard Mozambique’s macroeconomic stability, ensure more efficient use of international currency, and protect access to essential goods and services.”
The restriction also aimed to “stimulate national production, strengthen the domestic productive base, promote competitive import substitution, and increase production and consumption of domestic products.”
The cabinet spokesperson added that the measure complied with an “economic policy consistent with the principles of proportionality, temporariness, and non-discrimination as provided under multilateral obligations.”
