Mozambique Government Reports MZN 457M Loss From Cashew Smuggling

Maputo — Mozambican government has recorded, over the last three years, the loss of 457 million meticais (about 7.2 million US dollars at the current exchange rate) as a result of cashew nuts smuggling. According to Roberto Albino, Minister of Agriculture, speaking at the first session of the Cashew Committee, about 35,000 tonnes of cashew nuts were smuggled during the period. In order to reverse the situation, the minister called for tougher actions against those involved in the illegal trade of this product. "I believe that if we want to end smuggling, we have to stop treating smugglers merely as administrative offenders. We have to criminalize it", he said. The losses, the minister said, went beyond foregone revenue, as the diversion of cashew nuts from formal channels also prevents the country from benefiting from foreign-exchange earnings generated by exports. Keep up with the latest headlines on WhatsApp | LinkedIn "We have companies exporting cashew nuts to India and Vietnam. But we are not declaring it and we are not paying the taxes. Therefore, we call for greater accountability for those involved in the illegal trade", he said. Albino also called for stronger intervention by justice institutions and urged legal advisers to identify cases involving the diversion of public resources and revenue through smuggling that should be subject to criminal proceedings rather than being treated as administrative offences. "We must digitalize cashew marketing operations to improve transaction traceability and reduce opportunities for the commodity to be diverted into smuggling channels", he said. Read the original article on AIM . AllAfrica publishes around 600 reports a day from more than 90 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals , representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica . To address comments or complaints, please Contact us . AllAfrica is a voice of, by and about Africa - aggregating, producing and distributing 600 news and information items daily from over 90 African news organizations and our own reporters to an African and global public. We operate from Cape Town, Dakar, Abuja, Johannesburg, Nairobi and Washington DC. Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy . We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.