Signs of a revival in manufacturing sector

There are signs that Mozambique’s manufacturing sector is reviving. In time this should help balance imports and exports. One of the first sectors is construction, with Mozambique set to invest billions in housing and infrastructure over the next few years. “We introduced an initiative of bringing cement factories into the country. With this, we managed to stabilise the price levels of cement in Mozambique,” Armando Inroga, Mozambique’s Trade and Industry Minister, is quoted as saying in a KPMG report on manufacturing in Africa. “We intend to have market competitive prices in the coming two years so that Mozambicans can have adequate lowcost housing using highquality material produced in Mozambique,” he is quoted as saying. The opening of new cement plants in the Sofala province has seen logistics companies handling clinker rather than cement imports. Mozambique has an abundance of high-quality limestone but a shortage of clinker. The limestone deposits remain untapped due to high logistics costs. On a smaller scale furniture and cotton processing plants are either opening or expanding in Mozambique. The KPMG report uses Sociedade Comercial Colosso, outside Maputo, as “ just one” example of manufacturing revival in Africa. Its 26 employees manufacture wooden objects ranging from furniture to structural items such as beams, stairs and f looring. “They ensure that they keep their manufacturing costs lower by working with a variety of Mozambican trees, allowing them to compete with traditionally cheaper imported products,” says the report. Increased cotton production has also led to the reopening of the Riopele textile factory in the Maputo province after a 10-year closure. US$12 million has been invested in spinning, weaving and dyeing equipment by the Mozambique Cotton Manufacturers Consortium.