The economy of Mozambique has developed since the end of the Mozambican Civil War (1977

1992), but the country is still one of the world's poorest and most underdeveloped. In 1987, the
government embarked on a series of macroeconomic reforms designed to stabilize the economy.
These steps, combined with donor assistance and with political stability since the multi-party
elections in 1994, have led to dramatic improvements in the country's growth rate. Inflation was
brought to single digits during the late 1990s although it returned to double digits in 2000-02.
Fiscal reforms, including the introduction of a value-added tax and reform of the customs
service, have improved the government's revenue collection abilities. In spite of these gains,
Mozambique remains dependent upon foreign assistance for much of its annual budget, and a
large majority of the population remains below the poverty line. Subsistence agriculture
continues to employ the vast majority of the country's workforce. Mozambique's once substantial
foreign debt has been reduced through forgiveness and rescheduling under the International
Monetary Fund's Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) and Enhanced HIPC initiatives, and is
now at a manageable level.
Production
The production of coal was estimated to have increased by 193% in 2006; granite, by 150%;
garnet, 103%; diatomite, 33%; marble, 0.3%; cement, 55%; bauxite, 2.6%; dumortierite, 92%;
and limestone, 0.5%.[1] The production of aquamarine, beryl, niobium (columbium), tantalum,
and tourmaline was estimated to have decreased by nearly 14% in 2006. [1] In the mid-2000s, the
output of aluminium and natural gas increased sharply.
Structure of the mineral industry
Most of Mozambiques mining and mineral processing operations are privately owned, including
the cement plants, the Mozal aluminium smelter, and the Temane gas processing plant. Artisanal
miners produce gold and aquamarine, tourmaline, and other gemstones. Carbomoc E.E., which
was the countrys only coal producer, is state-owned.
Commodities
Aluminum
Mozambique is Africa's second ranked producer of aluminium after South Africa. The Mozal
aluminium smelter, which used alumina imported from Western Australia as raw material, The
share of aluminium in total exports, however, declined to 57% from 63% as other exports
increased at a faster rate.
Gold
Small amounts of gold are produced by artisanal miners.] As of 2006, Pan African Resources plc
of the United Kingdom was considering the development of a mine at the Fair Bride deposit on
its Manica gold project.

Niobium (Columbium) and Tantalum

National production of tantalite was estimated to be 240,000 kilograms (kg) in 2006 compared
with 281,212 kg in 2005.[1] Fleming Family & Partners owns a majority stake in the Marropino
Mine through Highland African Mining Company (HAMC).
Cement
Cimentos de Mocambique SARL (Cimentos de Portugal, SGPS, SA (Cimpor), 65.4%) produces
cement at its Dondo, Matola, and Nacala plants. ARJ Group opened a cement plant at Nacala in
mid-2005. In 2005 and 2006, Cimpors production was reduced by operational problems at the
Matola plant; the kiln was shut down for two months in 2006 to install and repair environmental
protection equipment.
Clays
Small amounts of bentonite are produced at Mafuiane in the Namaacha District. Production is
inhibited by high transportation costs.
Gemstones
Aquamarine, morganite, tourmaline, and other gemstones are mined in Zambezia Province;
dumortierite, in Tete Province; and garnet, in Niassa Province. ] The mine output of garnet
doubled to an estimated 4,400 kg in 2006; the increase may have been attributable to upgrades to
the Cuamba Mine by Sociedade Mineira de Cuamba
Coal
Under Portuguese rule, few geological surveys had been done, but after independence, huge new
coalfields were discovered in the north western Tete Province described by one source as "...one
of the largest coal plays on the globe.
In 2006 Vale of Brazil completed a feasibility study on the development of a mine in the Moatize
basin coalfield in Tete. Vale planned that coking coal would be consumed by steel plants in Brazil
and thermal coal would be consumed by a coal-fired power station to be built by Vale in
Mozambique with a capacity of 1,500 megawatts. Originally the Moatize Mine was forecast to
produce 9 million metric tons per year (Mt/yr) of coking coal and 3.5 Mt/yr of thermal coal by
2010 but, by 2012, Moatize actually produced only 2.6 million tons of coal that year. In 2013
Vale projected the mine would produce 22 million metric tons of coal ore per year in 2015 but
this would depend on development of adequate rail links to the coast and adequate coal handling
facilities at the ports.
Natural gas
in 2010-2011 the American company Anadarko Petroleum Corporation and the Italian company
Eni (the Mamba South gas field) discovered recoverable reserves of 4,200 billion cubic metres

(150 trillion cubic feet) of natural gas in the Rovuma Basin, off the coast the northern Cabo
Delgado Province. Once developed, this could make Mozambique one of the largest producers of
liquefied natural gas in the world. Plans were for production to start in 2018.
Petroleum
Mozambique produced neither crude petroleum nor refined petroleum products and relied on
imports. In early 2006, the Onshore Area in the Rovuma Basin was awarded to Artumas Group
Inc. of Canada; Area 1, to Anadarko Petroleum Corp. of the United States; Areas 2 and 5, to
Norsk Hydro ASA of Norway; Areas 3 and 6, to Petronas Carigali Overseas Shd. Bhd. of
Malaysia; and Area 4, to ENI S.p.A. of Italy.
Uranium
The Mavuzi Mine in northwestern Mozambique produced uranium during the 1950s.
OmegaCorp Ltd. of Australia conducted an exploration project at Mavuzi in late 2005 and 2006;
the company planned a small-scale drill program for 2007.
Mozambique has a variety of regional cropping patterns; agro-climatic zones range from arid and
semi-arid (mostly in the south and south-west) to the sub-humid zones (mostly in the centre and
the north) to the humid highlands (mostly the central provinces). The most fertile areas are in the
northern and central provinces, which have high agro-ecological potential and generally produce
agricultural surpluses. Southern provinces have poorer soils and scarce rainfall, and are subject
to recurrent droughts and floods.
Farming Industry
With the large majority of agricultural production being rain-fed, weather variability is a major
factor in determining crops performance. The main growing season starts with the first rains in
September in the south and December in the north. There is also a minor growing season, based
on residual soil moisture, from March to July, accounting for approximately 10 percent of total
output.
Crops
Food crop production is the most important agriculture sub-sector accounting for around 80
percent of the cultivated area (2009). Maize and cassava are the major staples; other food crops
include sorghum, millet, rice, beans, groundnut, sweet potatoes and a wide variety of vegetables.
Maize is grown in all regions of the country by about 79 percent of rural households and
occupies about 35 percent of total planted area. Cassava is grown mainly in the north and southeast, where it is the main staple. This crop is an important component of the smallholders risk
reduction strategy because it is drought tolerant and resistant to disease. Groundnut is cultivated
on sandy soils in most locations and makes an important contribution to household diet and
income. The main cash crops are tobacco, cotton, sesame, sugar and tea. Tree crops, especially
coconut and cashew, grown by small farmers, are an important source of foreign exchange
earnings, and contribute to household food security.