Exchange reserves in foreign currency reached their lowest point in approximately a year in February, dropping to $3.593 billion (€3.100 billion), as per the historical data from a statistical report by the Bank of Mozambique.
This was followed by six consecutive monthly increases, rising to $3.995 billion (€3.446 billion) in July, and reaching new highs in August of $4.035 billion (€3.480 billion), covering over three months of the estimated import needs of goods and services before the decline in September.
The central bank’s governor, Rogério Zandamela, announced on July 31 that the institution was implementing measures to increase liquidity in the foreign exchange market, redistributing available currencies to ensure imports.
“These measures are simply adjusting here, reallocating resources, placing them elsewhere and monitoring better,” Zandamela explained during a press conference in Maputo, following a meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC).
“An increase in market liquidity is expected. To boost public sales, the Bank of Mozambique recently reduced the daily retention limits of foreign currency acquired by banks. This complements the decision to raise the minimum export revenue conversion rate from 30% to 50%, implying greater availability and access to foreign currencies,” he added, regarding the meeting’s conclusions.
In response to journalists’ questions, considering entrepreneurs’ concerns about the lack of currency access, particularly for securing imports, Zandamela stated there was “a need to adjust certain segments of liquidity.”
Mozambican President Daniel Chapo accused banks in July of creating foreign currency shortages and turning it into a “business opportunity,” cautioning that foreign currency was never lacking for the distribution of dividends.
“When there is a shortage of foreign currency, this scarcity becomes a business opportunity. This happens even in commercial banks, where transactions occur daily. There isn’t a true currency shortage; it’s a manufactured scarcity,” said Daniel Chapo on July 15, during a meeting with local entrepreneurs in Sofala Province, central Mozambique.
The Confederation of Economic Associations (CTA) of Mozambique, the country’s largest business association, has been emphasizing that the lack of access to bank currencies is affecting operations, particularly in the health, aviation, fuel, and food product import sectors.
