[2020-03-11] Angola spends US$30 million per month on palm oil imports

Source: Macauhub

Angola spends US$30 per month importing 10,000 tonnes of palm oil, said on Monday in Ndalatando, Kwanza Norte province, the secretary of state for the economy, Mário Caetano João.

The Secretary of State, who spoke at a meeting with local businesspeople as part of his visit to the province to look at the conditions for the implementation of the Credit Support Programme (PAC) in the region, said that the import of palm oil has weighed heavily on the country’s balance of trade.

He added that in the first two months of 2020 US$59 million in foreign currency had been spent, of which US$29 million in January and US$30 million in February, on the import of 20,000 tonne of palm oil.

João recalled that as part of the CAP, and through the Angolan Development Bank (BDA) 750 million kwanzas were available to finance agricultural cooperatives, small and medium-sized enterprises, within the scope of the program to support production, diversification of exports and import substitution (Prodesi).

Prodesi, as well as PAC, are designed to increase the production of essential goods, promote the diversification of the economy and encourage employment creation, as well as the substitution of imports.