Obligation to seal alcoholic beverages outside Mozambique harms economy

Maputo, 12 Jun (AIM) – The company Cervejas de Moçambique (CDM – Beers of Mozambique), which operates some of the country’s largest breweries, claims that the obligation to seal alcoholic beverages outside the country, in the case of imports, is having a negative impact on the company’s performance and is contributing to tax losses for the state.

According to Tomáz Salomão, the Chairperson of the CDM Board of Directors, and a former Finance Minister, who was speaking recently at the CDM Annual General Meeting, the measure has caused an 87 percent reduction in the availability of imported brands, as well as accumulated tax losses, which are estimated at over 1.1 billion meticais (17.2 million dollars at the current exchange rate).

Therefore, he said, the sealing of imported beer must be carried out on national territory, “so that it can benefit the company and its shareholders, as well as public finances.”

For his part, the CDM managing director, Galo Rivera, cited in a company statement, said the post-election demonstrations recorded in the last quarter of 2024 which degenerated into rioting had a negative impact on the company.

“The instability of this peak sales period caused revenue to contract by 2.5 percent. Despite this contraction, operating profit grew by 13 percent (+326 million meticais compared to 2023) driven by the growth in exports to South Africa and the optimization of operations”, he said.

Rivera also highlighted a growth of 1.1 billion meticais in net profit for the year, “positively impacted by the reduction in financial costs.”
(AIM)
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