That dollar amount reflects a 58.9% increase from $5.2 billion in 2018.
Year over year, the total value of Mozambican exports accelerated by 60.4% compared to $5.1 billion for 2021.
Based on the average exchange rate for 2022, the Mozambican metical depreciated by -5.8% against the US dollar since 2018 but strengthened by 2.5% from 2021 to 2022. Mozambique’s weaker local currency compared to 2018 makes its exports paid for in stronger US dollars relatively less expensive for international buyers.
Mozambique’s Best Exports Customers
The latest available country-specific data shows that 76.9% of products exported from Mozambique were bought by importers in: India (21.7% of the Mozambican total), United Kingdom (12.1%), South Africa (11.9%), South Korea (6.11%), China (6.06%), Singapore (4.7%), Netherlands (3.8%), Zimbabwe (2.4%), Italy (2.3%), Vietnam (2.1%), Spain (1.83%) and United Arab Emirates (1.81%).
From a continental perspective, 51.3% of Mozambique’s exports by value was delivered to Asian countries while 27.6% was sold to European importers. Mozambique shipped another 18.9% worth of goods to fellow African nations.
Smaller percentages went to buyers in North America (2.2%), Latin America (0.1%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, then Oceania (0.004%) led by Australia.
Given Mozambique’s population of 33 million people, its total $8.2 billion in 2022 exports translates to roughly $250 for every resident in the southeast African nation. That per-capita metric exceeds the average $160 in 2021.
Mozambique’s Top 10 Exports
The following export product groups categorize the highest dollar value in Mozambican global shipments during 2022. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Mozambique.
- Mineral fuels including oil: US$4 billion (49.3% of total exports)
- Aluminum: $1.9 billion (23%)
- Ores, slag, ash: $644.8 million (7.9%)
- Vegetables: $226.9 million (2.8%)
- Oil seeds: $162.6 million (2%)
- Gems, precious metals: $160.3 million (2%)
- Fruits, nuts: $139.6 million (1.7%)
- Tobacco, manufactured substitutes: $138.8 million (1.7%)
- Salt, sulphur, stone, cement: $130.5 million (1.6%)
- Fertilizers: $94.5 million (1.2%)
Mozambique’s top 10 exports are concentrated product categories, given that they represent 92.9% of the overall value of Mozambican global shipments.
Mineral fuels including oil was the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 83.5% from 2021 to 2022.
In second place for improving export sales was exports of aluminum from Mozambique via a 66.9% advance.
Mozambique’s shipments of ores, slag and ash posted the third-fastest gain in value, up by 48.8%.
The lone decliner among Mozambique’s top 10 export categories was tobacco and manufactured substitutes, pulled down by a -4.2% year-over-year drop.
The product categories listed above is at the two-digit Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) code level.
Drilling down to the more detailed four-digit HTS codes, Mozambique’s most valuable exported goods are coal including solid fuels made from coal (24.8% of Mozambican total), raw aluminum (20.7%), coke and semi-coke (10.6%), petroleum gases (6.3%), titanium ores and concentrates (5.7%), electrical energy (4.9%), dried shelled vegetables (2.7%), processed petroleum oils (also 2.7%), niobium or zirconium ores and concentrates (2.1%), then aluminum wire (1.9%).
Products Creating Mozambique’s Greatest Trade Surpluses
The following types of Mozambican product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.
In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.
- Aluminum: US$1.8 billion (Up by 71.4% since 2021)
- Mineral fuels including oil: $1.4 billion (Up by 91.3%)
- Ores, slag, ash: $621.7 million (Up by 50.4%)
- Vegetables: $169.1 million (Up by 68.5%)
- Gems, precious metals: $160.1 million (Up by 48.1%)
- Fruits, nuts: $131.5 million (Up by 19.8%)
- Tobacco, manufactured substitutes: $126.3 million (Down by -5.2%)
- Oil seeds: $111.5 million (Up by 55.3%)
- Salt, sulphur, stone, cement: $61.6 million (Reversing a -$10.8 million deficit)
- Sugar, sugar confectionery: $50.8 million (Down by -35.1%)
Mozambique has highly positive net exports in the international trade of aluminum. In turn, these cashflows indicate Mozambique’s strong competitive advantages under the aluminum product category.
Products Driving Mozambique’s Biggest Trade Deficits
Mozambique incurred an overall trade deficit of -US$6.3 billion during 2022, expanding by 79.8% from -$3.5 billion one year earlier during 2021.
Below are exports from Mozambique that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Mozambique’s goods trail Mozambican importer spending on foreign products.
- Ships, boats: -US$4.7 billion (Up by 8,818% since 2021)
- Machinery including computers: -$754.7 million (Down by -4.3%)
- Cereals: -$613 million (Down by -8.7%)
- Vehicles: -$605.5 million (Up by 1.2%)
- Inorganic chemicals: -$560.3 million (Up by 49.1%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: -$530.9 million (Up by 2.3%)
- Animal/vegetable fats, oils, waxes: -$360.6 million (Down by -7%)
- Pharmaceuticals: -$285.9 million (Down by -6.7%)
- Articles of iron or steel: -$243.2 million (Down by -9.5%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: -$225 million (Up by 4.2%)
Mozambique has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits under the highly capital-intensive ships and boats product category.
Mozambique’s Export Companies
Not one corporation ranks among Forbes Global 2000.
Wikipedia does list a handful of companies from Mozambique that engage as players in international trade. Selected examples are shown below.
- Beira Railroad Corporation (port-access railroads)
- Illovo Sugar Limited (raw and refined sugar)
- Mozal (aluminum smelter)
- Telecomunicações de Moçambique (telecommunications, internet services)
In macroeconomic terms, Mozambique’s total exported goods represent 16.9% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2022 ($48.4 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 16.9% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2022 compares to 11.9% one year earlier. Those percentages suggest a relatively increasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Mozambique’s total economic performance, albeit based on a short timeframe.
Mozambique’s capital city is Maputo.
See also Top African Export Countries, Top South African Trading Partners, Nigeria’s Top 10 Exports and Togo’s Top 10 Exports
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, Country Profiles, The World Factbook. Accessed on June 22, 2023
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on June 22, 2023
International Monetary Fund, Exchange Rates selected indicators (Domestic Currency per U.S. dollar, period average). Accessed on June 22, 2023
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on June 22, 2023
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on June 22, 2023
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on June 22, 2023
Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on June 22, 2023
Wikipedia, List of Companies of Mozambique. Accessed on June 22, 2023
Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on June 22, 2023