At issue is the price of mineral coal on the international market, which has fallen drastically in the last 12 months, affecting Vulcan’s business, which explores the ore, in the Moatize district, Tete province, central Mozambique.
In just one year, the price fell by US$289 per ton, currently standing at US$147 per ton. Without great value on the global market, coal exports also tend to fall, which ultimately harms the national economy.
Data from the Trading Economics website cited by Carta de Moçambique illustrate that, at the end of April 2022, the year in which the Indian company Vulcan began mining coal mining operations, Moatize, the price of the ore on the international market was 328 dollars per ton .
However, from May to July of the same year, coal appreciated considerably, reaching 408 dollars, 387 and 405 dollars per ton, respectively.
At the end of August 2022, the price of mineral coal rose even further, to 436 dollars per ton, but from then on the value of the ore fell drastically, remaining, until mid-August 2023, at 147 dollars. per ton, which represents a drop of 289 dollars per ton, more than half the price charged in the same month of 2022.
With a low value on the international market, mineral coal exports fell in the first quarter of 2023, according to data published a few days ago by the Bank of Mozambique, in the Quarterly Balance of Payments Report.
In this report, the Central Bank shows that revenues from mineral coal exports fell from 540 million dollars in the first quarter of 2022, to 460 million dollars, a reduction of 80 million dollars. In other words, the economy lost 80 million dollars in revenue.
