Trade between Mozambique and South Africa tops US$2 billion annually, making the two key partners in the region and beyond, reports Mozambican news agency AIM.
The Southern African countries enjoy strong geographic proximity, historical ties and mutual economic interests, factors that have fuelled a dynamic and strategic partnership. “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 agricultural products,” Puleng Chaba, South Africa’s chargé d’affaires in Mozambique, told AIM. A more than 1,400-kilometre-long transmission line also carries electricity from the massive Cahorra Bassa hydroelectric dam to South Africa.
The country is Mozambique’s largest trade partner in the region and third largest globally. Only China and India, whose bilateral trade with Mozambique tops US$5 billion and US$4 billion, respectively, surpass the two neighbours.
[See more: China cements status as a key trade partner for Mozambique]
Data from Mozambique Expert confirms that Mozambican exports over US$1 billion to South Africa, accounting for 18.3 percent of the total, while imports from its southern neighbour also exceed US$1 billion, or around 15.6 percent of total imports. Vehicles and transportation equipment account for a fifth of those South African imports, followed by processed foods, electrical equipment, agricultural and construction machinery, as well as chemicals and generic medicine.
South African imports have long been key to sustaining Mozambican industrialization, supplying everything from raw materials and equipment to the vehicles needed to transport finished products. Focus is shifting, though, toward greater diversification of investments, attracting foreign direct investment, and creating strong links between national and foreign companies. Chaba noted that over 300 South African companies currently operate in Mozambique in sectors ranging from energy to agriculture to financial services.
