25 August 2014
A delegation of South African companies has begun showcasing their products and services at the 50th Maputo International Trade Fair, which got under way in the Mozambican capital on Monday.
The 29 companies – including 19 small, medium and micro enterprises and six emerging exporters – are participating in the week-long fair with the help of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
The companies will be looking in particular to tap into the growing Mozambican market in transport and communication.
“Mozambique is one of South Africa’s top five trading partners in Africa, and we want to expand our market share to enable our companies to compete with other countries that have since made substantial inroads into the country,” said the DTI’s economic counsellor in Mozambique, Matome Kgowedi.
The director of export promotion at the DTI, Julius Nyalunga, said Mozambique was an important country in relation to the government’s diversification strategy in Africa.
“It is one of the countries that we are targeting, with the understanding that it is amongst the 10 fastest growing economies in the world, and that it has signed a number of memoranda of understanding with South Africa that seek to strengthen trade relations,” Nyalunga said.
“We also intend to increase South African outward investment into Mozambique, but it is interesting for us to understand that if we are not going to aggressively participate in Mozambique, there is going to be a challenge, because role players from the world over are here and they are trying to get a foothold into Mozambique’s market.”
Source: SAnews.gov.za
