Seeds on sale in Maputo
Maputo, 6 Jan (AIM) – The Mozambican Ministry of Agriculture has cancelled the licence of the seed distribution company Moz Store Seed and doubled the fines imposed on the company for violating the rules governing seed distribution.
The Ministry, cited by the Portuguese news agency Lusa, claimed that the company had repeatedly violated the seed regulations and it had therefore compromised seed quality.
The measure was implemented through the National Plant Health and Biosafety Directorate (Dinasab), the body responsible for quality control, certification, and inspection of seeds.
According to the Ministry, the decision followed inspections carried out by Dinasab, which identified serious infractions at Moz Store Seed, a company engaged in the marketing of national and imported seeds. The measure, the Ministry said, takes immediate effect and aims to protect seed quality in the domestic market.
“In June 2025, a team of inspectors carried out an inspection of the commercial seed network in Manica province, where serious irregularities were detected at Moz Store Seed. Among the infractions identified were false declarations and misleading advertising, falsification of variety names, and the sale of national or imported seeds without official certificates—practices prohibited under the Seed Regulations,” the statement said.
The company was initially fined the equivalent of 19,000 euros, but in November 2025 it again violated the law, committing new offences that resulted in a second fine of 7,000 euros. Despite these penalties, the company neither issued a response nor voluntarily paid the fines.
“Despite the sanctions applied, the company maintained a recurrent pattern of non-compliance and disregard for the rules governing the seed sector in the country. In light of this situation, on 12 December the company was formally notified of the increased fines”, said the Ministry.
But, given the persistence of irregularities, Dinasab decided to permanently cancel Moz Store Seed’s license and increase the fines by 100 per cent, bringing the total owing to 52,600, payable within a maximum period of 15 days.
The Ministry stressed that the measure aims to protect the agricultural sector, safeguard producers, and ensure the quality of seeds on the market, which are considered a key factor in increasing production and productivity, in support of food and nutritional security.
(AIM)
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