India was again the country that purchased the most goods from Mozambique in the first quarter, worth $331 million (€303 million), equivalent to 18.8% of Mozambique’s exports for the three months.
According to the Foreign Trade Report for the first quarter of 2024, provided by the Bank of Mozambique and accessed by Lusa on Wednesday, India has essentially been buying natural gas and mineral coal, Mozambique’s two main export products, but also dried vegetables and cashew nuts.
South Africa, which accounts for 16.9% of total exports worth $298.5 million (€273.2 million), slightly increased the weight of purchases from Mozambique – 16.3% for the same period in 2023 – “with an emphasis” on electricity, natural gas, coal and bananas, the report said.
South Korea, with a weight of 11.4% of the total, was the third country that purchased the most from Mozambique from January to March, worth $202 million (€185 million), “an increase of more than 100% compared to the same period in 2023”, mainly coal and natural gas.
China increased its purchases from Mozambique in the period year-on-year by 79.1%, reaching €197 million (€180.3 million) in the three months, equivalent to an 11.2% share, mainly natural gas, heavy sands, natural sands and coal.
In the first quarter of 2024, Mozambique’s total exports amounted to $1,764 million (€1,615 million), up $53 million (€48.5 million) from the same period in 2023.
Conversely, South Africa was again the country that sold the most to Mozambique in the first quarter, worth $481 million (€440.2 million) – 23.2% of total imports – mainly electricity, trucks, maize, electrical appliances and iron rods.
With a share of 17.9%, China’s sales to Mozambique grew by 21.4% year-on-year to the equivalent of $361.3 million (€330.7 million), supplying mainly tractors, ships and boats for transport, pesticides, seeds and fruits, and agricultural supplies during the period.
The United Arab Emirates sold 8.1% of Mozambique’s imports in the first three months, down 37.9% year-on-year to $163 million (€149.2 million), mostly fuel, agricultural inputs, soybeans and oils, while India sold $150.7 million (€138 million) – down 1.9% from 2023 – mostly fuel, rice and medicines.
In the first three months of 2024, the central bank’s report states, “the cost of importing goods fell by 2.5%,” to $2,020 million (€1,849 million).
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
I am Michael Melvin, an experienced news writer with a passion for uncovering stories and bringing them to the public. I have been working in the news industry for over five years now, and my work has been published on multiple websites. As an author at 24 News Reporters, I cover world section of current events stories that are both informative and captivating to read.