The district of Muanza, in Sofala, is planning the construction of an ecological charcoal production unit, the first of its kind in the country, budgeted at 26 million meticais, with funding from the World Bank.

The factory will have the capacity to produce 2,500 tons of ecological charcoal per year, using as raw material the sawdust that has been wasted by the local lumber industry.

The initiative is from the company LevasFlor and is waiting for the results of the environmental impact studies to come out of the paper.

Quoted by Radio Mozambique, the general director of the firm, Nils von Sydow, says that ecological charcoal is in high demand on the international market, where a ton currently costs 800 dollars.

"Most of the coal is going to be exported to Europe and the United States of America. It means that the coal has environmental certification and a good international ask," the source said.