WeeklySA_AdminVOLUME: Between 1 700 and 2 000 trucks cross South Africa’s border with Mozambique daily, bringing all manner of goods, including aluminium, chrome, other times it’s agricultural products…
By AIM
Mozambique remains South Africa’s largest trading partner in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and on the continent, recording an annual trade volume of over two billion dollars.
According to Puleng Chaba, South Africa’s Chargé d’Affaires in Mozambique, interviewed by AIM, data show that the business exchange between the two countries is driven by geographic proximity, historical ties, and mutual economic interests, consolidating a dynamic and strategic partnership.
Mozambican exports to South Africa include aluminium from Mozal aluminium smelter, which represents 40 percent of total exports. The exports also include electricity from Hidroeléctrica de Cahora Bassa (HCB), the publicly-owned company that operates the Cahora Bassa dam, on the Zambezi River in the province of Tete, as well as agricultural products (cotton, sugar, and tobacco), and minerals such as titanium and gemstones.
In contrast, Mozambique’s main imports from South Africa include vehicles and transport equipment, accounting for 20 percent, processed foods, electrical equipment, agricultural and construction machinery, and chemicals and generic pharmaceuticals.
“Between 1 700 and 2 000 trucks cross the border with Mozambique daily, bringing all kinds of goods. Sometimes it’s aluminium, chrome, other times it’s agricultural products. We supply many commodities to Mozambican economy, and some of these are then transported to other destinations”, Chaba said.
According to the diplomat, “South Africa is Mozambique’s largest trading partner in the region, while Mozambique is among the main African destinations for South African trade.”
Globally, the volume of trade positions South Africa just behind China and India, which respectively move more than five and four billion dollars in bilateral trade with Mozambique.
“We are only behind China and India in terms of bilateral trade with Mozambique. Today, the focus is on diversifying investment, attracting foreign direct investment, and creating strong connections between national and foreign companies”, he said.
According to Chaba, who was also speaking in the context of the 60th edition of the Maputo International Fair (FACIM 2025), which will take place from August 25 to 31, over 300 South African companies currently operate in Mozambique, in sectors such as energy, agriculture, trade, and financial services.
“We are demonstrating innovations in manufacturing, finance, and green technologies. We are not just in Mozambique to do business, but to build relationships that improve the lives of communities and drive inclusive growth”, he said.
Meanwhile, Mozambique’s exports to other African countries, over the last year, reached 1.5 billion dollars (R26 billion).
According to António Grispos, Secretary of State for Trade, who was speaking yesterday at the opening of MozExport, a platform which is taking place in the central province of Tete aimed at establishing trade agreements and opportunities for export diversification, the data indicate that trade is concentrated in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region through the Free Trade Area.
“For the government, it is clear that we have managed to establish economic partnership agreements that offer enormous potential to increase and diversify the base of our exports through the active participation of the entrepreneurial spirit of our sector, which is dominated by micro, small and medium-sized enterprises”, he said.
“Economic partnership agreements allow domestic production to access these markets free of customs duties and sometimes quotas, which makes the possibility of internationalizing our local production through exports more competitive and inclusive”, he added.
The preferential markets, he said, only absorbed 49 per cent of total exports.
“We continue to see consistent growth in agricultural exports of around 13 per cent, accounting for 12 per cent of total exports, with a level of diversification in new markets, but with little impact on business inclusion, as micro, small and medium-sized enterprises contributed only around 19 per cent of the total”, he said.
*The Mozambican government expects to welcome around 70,000 visitors and 2,350 national exhibitors at the 60th edition of the Maputo International Fair (FACIM 2025), which starts on Monday and ends on August 31.
The event, held at the Ricatla International Fair and Exhibition Centre, in Marracuene district, about 30 kilometres north of Maputo, under the slogan: “Promoting Economic Diversification towards Sustainable and Competitive Development in Mozambique”, will also count on 800 foreign exhibitors from 30 countries.
According to the Ministry of the Economy, the organizer of the event through the Investment and Export Promotion Agency (APIEX), will be attended by representatives of the State and the private sector from the country’s 11 provinces.
According to Economy Minister Basílio Muhate, for this edition, the southern province of Gaza has been chosen as the ‘”Province of Honour”, while South Africa will have the status of “Country of Honour”, and “this distinction will culminate in the Mozambique-South Africa Business Fair, strengthening trade and cooperation ties between the two countries.”
