Mozambique generated $120.9 million in cotton export revenue over the past five years but earnings dropped by more than half in 2024 according to official statistics released this week.
A Bank of Mozambique balance of payments report revealed that revenue for the country’s largest export crop decreased to $14.2 million last year, the lowest annual earnings over the past five years, reported Agência de Notícias de Portugal (Lusa News).
According to data that Mozambique Cotton Association (AAM) President Francisco Ferreira dos Santos released in 2024, cotton represented an annual average of $30m to $50m in exports over the past ten years.
Mozambique produces less than 0.5% of the world’s cotton in a market dominated by the United States, China and India.
Cotton production in Mozambique increased 2% in 2024 compared with the previous year, hitting 24 000 tonnes. However, it missed targets set for the sector, according to the Ministry of Finance.
It fell short of the projected 40 000 tonnes, meeting only 60% of the target, although above the 23 516 tonnes achieved in 2023. This was despite an increase in the cotton production area, which grew from 95 097 hectares in 2023 to 96 523 hectares last year.
After its meeting to set the 2025 reference prices in May, the Ministry of Agriculture announced that it would stop subsidising cotton sales due to a shortage of funds, after two years of state assistance.
The new price list sets the price at 22 meticais (€0.30) per kilogram for top-quality cotton and at 15.5 meticais (€0.21) for second-quality cotton from the 2024/2025 season.
Less rain in some regions due to El Niño, the abandonment of production in Cabo Delgado province affected production, while market oversupply put downward pressure on prices that led to the subsidy for a second year in 2024.
