The parliamentary Committee on Constitutional Affairs, Human Rights and Legality is concerned about the weight that VAT is having on the sugar, oil and soap industry and the knock-on impact on consumer prices for these products.

The concern was expressed this Monday (4) by the chairman of that parliamentary committee, António Boene, who defended the need to once again lower the tax which, after being frozen for several years, has been levied again since the beginning of this year.

"We are aware of the need to reduce VAT and the impact it has on the final price. We are in constant contact with the government to see how palliative measures can be taken to reduce the impact that VAT is having on soaps, oils and sugar, especially for Mozambican families," said António Boene, quoted by Mozambican daily Terra Magazine.

Since VAT was unfrozen, the price of soaps, oils and sugar has skyrocketed to levels that have made the basic food basket increasingly expensive, at a time when the union representing manufacturers of these products has been expressing its displeasure at the weight the tax is having on production costs, warning that some companies may close.