Mozambique is currently experiencing a serious currency contradiction. While the Central Bank asserts that there are sufficient foreign exchange reserves in the financial system to satisfy demand, the private sector and households report long delays in their imports and ruptures in production chains, being forced to increasingly resort to the parallel market as an alternative source for the acquisition of foreign exchange. The tension intensified, especially since 2023, after the Bank of Mozambique (BdM) implemented restrictive measures, such as the suspension of co-payment of fuel import bills and an increase in the foreign currency reserve requirement ratio by about 28% from January to May. During this period, Net International Reserves (NIR) covered only 3.2 months of imports, excluding megaprojects, and 1.9 months including them.
