The Minister of Economy and Finance, Max Tonela, argued in Washington that the expected growth for agriculture, industry, tourism and services in the country has been included in the 5% economic growth forecast for 2023.

In an interview with Lusa in the US capital on the sidelines of the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Tonela explained that the projections made by his government were based not only on the "not very optimistic scenario" felt worldwide, but also on the work that the executive has been doing in favor of economic growth.

"Our perspective takes into account the projections for growth or the evolution of the world economy, in which we have a not very optimistic scenario, mainly due to the conjuncture derived from the situation of the war in Ukraine, with negative impacts at the price level, especially of commodities and fuels. And since fuels are an essential product for fertilizers, this has an impact on the prices of food products globally," he said.

"We take in the growth projections of the national economy also these assumptions, but we also assume the work that the Government has been doing to promote the stimulation of the growth of the national economy. And taking into account the growth projected for agriculture and also for industry, tourism, and services, our projection is for a growth of about 5% for 2023," he added.

The Mozambican government forecasts economic growth of 5% and inflation at 11.5% in 2023 in the draft plan and state budget for 2023 approved earlier this month by the Council of Ministers and which will be submitted to parliament.

This year, and with the numbers counted by the National Institute of Statistics (INE) until August, inflation in Mozambique is at 7.62%.

As for economic growth, Mozambique's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 4.37% in the first half of 2022 and the IMF - which in May reopened the country's access to financing - points to growth of 3.8% by the end of the year.

However, Mozambican economists told Lusa on Wednesday that these economic goals are achievable, but warned of the context of global uncertainties.