The Portuguese Tax Authority has authorized the transport of cargo between Mozambique and Portugal, via the cargo flight of Mozambique Airlines.

In fact, the cooperation measure already existed, but it was unilaterally benefiting Portugal. Only flights operated from Lisbon to Maputo could carry cargo, according to information shared by LAM with the Portuguese press.

One of the aims of the Mozambican Business Mission, which took 80 businesspeople to Porto and Lisbon, was to reverse the situation.

According to a document sent to MZNews by the Confederation of Economic Associations of Mozambique-CTA, the national delegation managed to get the Portuguese Tax Authority to authorize the export of goods from Maputo to Lisbon via the LAM freighter.

"Mozambican companies were prevented from using LAM's Cargo service because they lacked authorization from the Portuguese authorities. However, the opposite was happening, as cargo from Lisbon to Maputo is being transported normally," the document reads.

The LAM plane, with a capacity of 32 tons, flew empty of cargo from Maputo to Lisbon, but came full from Lisbon to Maputo, allowing Portuguese companies to export to Mozambique via the LAM cargo.

After several meetings, LAM, which was part of the Business Mission, finally received information that Mozambican companies had already been authorized to use LAM's Cargo service to export to Portugal.

CTA believes that this measure will have a major impact on the competitiveness of Mozambican exports.