Putting Partnerships into Practice. 2020 edition

Putting Partnerships into Practice | 2020 edition

MOZAMBIQUE Avocados reach EU shelves – duty free, of course

Westfalia Fruto Moçambique started exporting avocados to the EU in 2016, mainly to France and the Netherlands. Exports continue to increase as demand for avocados in the EU is growing. Nature gives a helping hand. The Manica province, where the plantation is located, is known as an early fruit-producing area, meaning crops grown there ripen earlier and can therefore be exported

to the avocado-hungry EU a few weeks earlier than competitors from countries further south. Stable market-access conditions provided by the EPA help Mozambican SMEs (such as Westfalia Fruto) to expand their operations and integrate into global value chains. For instance, Westfalia Fruto expects to open new plantations and to increase its exports to 7 000 tonnes by 2021.

EU imports fromMozambique have seen a strong increase over the past years, partly fuelled by raw materials, such as aluminium, mineral fuels, ores and salt. Agricultural exports are also of key importance to the country, with tobacco being the main export product to the EU (EUR 180 million in 2018). Other agri-food exports from Mozambique to the EU are fish and crustaceans (EUR 37 million in 2018), sugar (EUR 16 million) and – growing at a rapid rate – cashew nuts (EUR 11 million). Avocados accounted for EUR 500 000 in exports in 2018.

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