Mozambique aluminium to lag behind coal as the highest export revenue earner

According to Trading Economics data, Mozambique’s exports surged 56.2 per cent since 2009 to reach a value of US$3.4 billion in 2016. The year-on-year export increased five percent in the previous year. Aluminium was the second highest commodity and the fastest-growing among the top 10 export categories to be shipped globally. The southeast African country exported aluminium worth US$889.3 million (up 26.5 per cent YoY) in 2016. The value is slightly lower than the estimated value of US$992.15 million for the same year, reveal international trade data.

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A glance at the three-year aluminium export trend from Mozambique would reveal a year-on-year rise in volume in 2016 from 2015. The country shipped 589188 tonnes of aluminium in 2015 which increased by 3.5 per cent to reach 609703.5 tonnes in 2016. For 2017, total aluminium export from Mozambique is pegged at 477906 tonnes, down 21.6 per cent from the previous year.

Value-wise aluminium exports from Mozambique have fallen since 2015. Last year, total exports were down at US$992.15 million (estimated) from US$1.17 billion in 2015. This year, the aluminium export value is estimated to reach US$856 million, down 13.7 per cent year-on-year.

The inauguration of the coal terminal at the port of Nacala-a-Velha and the railway line to transport ore mined at Moatize is expected to increase exports and even make coal the main product exported by Mozambique, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) reported recently. The EIU observed that the increase in production from the Moatize mine would probably be enough for coal to overtake aluminium as the largest source of export revenues in the country.

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However, diversified mining house BHP Billiton is in talks with Mozambican authorities about the expansion of its Mozal aluminium smelter, with electricity availability seen as the main constraint. The US$500 million (R3.05 billion) project is expected to boost aluminium production at the smelter to 750 000 tonnes a year from the current 540 000 tonnes.

Mozal aluminium smelter returned to profit in the second half of 2016 after making a US$12 million loss in the corresponding period previous year. It also broke even in the twelve months to 30^th June, 2016.