Good afternoon. It is typical of the current Mozambican government to introduce bizarre or controversial policies without proper consultation or explanation. Plans promoted by the agriculture ministry this week to licence the import and export of foodstuffs (see below) certainly fit that description. At best, they are the wrong solution to a problem that should have been addressed long ago. At worst, they are an excuse for ruling party Frelimo to increase the corrupt profits it already makes from exploiting its position of power.
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According to the ministry, the aim is to reduce reliance on goods that can be produced domestically, and thus to improve the balance of trade by spending less on imports. But if this is such a concern, and if there really is $800m in imports that could be saved, why has this government (which will be replaced in five months’ time) not done more to boost agriculture in the 10 years it has been in power? Imposing more bureaucracy on food imports does not look like it is going to lead to more home production; not when most farming in Mozambique is subsistence farming, and many farmers lack the seeds, tools and training to produce enough food to sell in large amounts.
