Maputo, 12 Aug (AIM) – The Mozambican government has approved an emergency plan aimed at mobilizing through the state-owned fuel company, Petromoc, up to 50 million dollars to secure imports and national supply of fuel in moments of crisis.
According to a resolution, approved by the Council of Ministers (cabinet), the emergency body will operate Petromoc, using an account held by the Ministry of Finance and domiciled with the Bank of Mozambique
“The payment facility mechanism for Creditors Abroad is approved, through Petromoc, using the account held by the Ministry of Finance and domiciled with the Bank of Mozambique, to ensure the import of liquid fuels for the domestic market in the event of a crisis”, reads the document.
According to the resolution, the minister responsible for Finance, in coordination with the minister responsible for fuels, may authorize recourse to the facility provided in an amount of up to 40 million dollars, to ensure the import of liquid fuels for the domestic market.
“All payments made using the facility provided for in this resolution up to the date of its entry into force are safeguarded. The mechanism is necessary to ensure the import of liquid fuels for the domestic market in the event of a crisis”.
According to the Central Bank, the country’s fuel import bill fell by 1.4 percent (236.4 million dollars) in the first quarter of 2026. In the first quarter of 2025, however, fuel import bill reached 239.6 million dollars.
Recently, the government has expressed its concern at the new wave of fuel shortage in several parts of the country, following the crisis that affected the country last April and May. The previous fuel shortage caused long queues of vehicles at filling stations in Maputo and other cities.
According to the authorities, the crisis was influenced by the US-Israel aggression war against Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which is responsible for the daily flow of almost 20 percent of the world’s oil sales.
About 80 per cent of Mozambique’s fuel imports pass through routes connected to the Strait of Hormuz, which means that the impact of the war in the Middle East is potentially disastrous for the country.
The authorities also pointed out the bankruptcy of fuel distributors and the shortage of foreign currency (particularly US dollars) as the main cause of the crisis.
This situation forced the government to increase, at the beginning of this May, the prices of the main liquid fuels by up to 45, 5 percent.
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