The Angolan government wants the Program to Support National Production, Export Diversification and Import Substitution (Prodesi) to be the turning point for increasing domestic production and making the country self-sufficient in food, the Minister of State for Economic and Social Development said this week in Luanda.
Manuel Nunes Júnior also said that the country has, initially, to be self-sufficient in terms of food, “we have to stop importing food products that are popularly consumed,” at the opening session of the lecture series on Support Measures to Increase National Production.
To illustrate the almost total external dependency in terms of consumer goods the minister said that between 2016 and 2017 the average import value of the basic basket goods reached about USD1.5 billion, not including transport and insurance costs. Products such as rice, corn flour, wheat flour, sugar, oil, and palm oil had the largest share of imports of the basic basket of goods in 2016, accounting for around 60 percent of imports.
The Minister pointed out that the Government, aware that the country still has a weak production sector, approved an Action Plan under Prodesi to increase production and internal competitiveness and to ensure that action is concerted, and 54 products were selected on which national entrepreneurs should focus.
After the capital, the lectures will be taken to other regions of Angola in the provinces of Benguela, Huambo, Bié, Moxico, Huíla, Uíge and Cabinda, focused on local business associations, with a view to collecting subsidies and informing them about the steps being taken to improve the business environment and competitiveness of domestic production.
Following the regional talks, in March Luanda will host the national conference on measures to support domestic production, according to a statement from the Ministry of Economy and Planning. MDT/Macauhub
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