The governor of the Bank of Mozambique, Rogério Zandamela, said that importing fuel has been expensive for the country, and is eroding the international net reserves that the institution has to cope with imports of various products and services, excluding major projects.  

"Our gross international reserves have reduced to meet the high fuel bills and make more foreign currency liquidity available to Credit Institutions," Zandamela said a few days ago in Beira City, during the institution's 47th Consultative Council meeting.

According to the source, the high fuel bills are due to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, with impacts on rising international food and energy prices.

It should be noted that in a report released months ago, it is stated that in the second quarter of this year, the fuel import bill stood at $578 million against only $213 million spent in the same period of 2021, resulting in a growth of $366 million.

Despite this scenario, the Governor of the Bank of Mozambique assured that the balance of international reserves remains at levels sufficient to cover about three months of imports of goods and services, excluding imports from major projects.