Mozambique recently welcomed a delegation of Japanese businesspeople interested in exploring opportunities in the commercialisation of agricultural products and processed foods, reports national news agency AIM.
While Japanese interest in Mozambique is nothing new, the East Asian country having invested more than US$1.6 billion since the early 2000s, this is the first formal delegation of businesspeople from Japan to have visited.
Álvaro Massingue, president of the Mozambique Chamber of Commerce (CCM), framed the trip as a recognition of the potential of Mozambique’s agro-industrial sector. “This is a country with great potential, vast business opportunities for both Mozambicans and foreigners, and it is something we must approach with seriousness,” he told AIM.
Mozambique boasts over 36 million hectares of arable land and a network of significant waterways that support both rain-fed and irrigated agriculture, he said, while also highlighting other rich natural resources including fish, minerals and energy resources.
[See more: Mozambique nets over US$10 billion in foreign investment in four years]
During its stay, the Japanese delegation visited the districts of Ribaué and Ilha de Moçambique in Nampula Province, an area currently dominated by subsistence farming, with artisanal fishing, livestock production and a few cash crops.
The exploratory mission was intended to show what each side has to offer, Massingue explained to AIM. “From there, synergies will emerge, and business deals will follow.”
Toshihiro Takagi, head of the Japanese delegation, said the visit aimed to strengthen exchanges between the two nations. “We hope to deepen this opportunity to develop our exchange and accelerate the economics of Mozambique and Japan,” he said. While the delegation includes businesspeople from agriculture, it also boasts people in marketing, know-how technologies and other sectors.
“In terms of investment, we consider that Mozambique has great opportunities in agriculture, processing, agribusiness, as well as in industry, natural resources and other areas,” Atsushi Matsunaga, director of the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) office in Maputo, told AIM.
