According to the annual report of the National Bank of Angola (BNA), consulted today by Lusa, the value of Angolan imports decreased by 13% in 2023 compared to the previous year, to 15 billion dollars (14 billion euros), highlighting the decrease in imports of food (33%), chemical products and fuels.
China represented 15% of the total value of imports, with 2.3 billion dollars (2.7 billion dollars in 2022), followed by Portugal with 1.6 billion dollars (1.5 billion euros) which compares to the 1.9 billion dollars (1.8 billion euros) sold in 2022
Portugal, which represents 10.89% of the total value of Angola’s imports, sold mainly
machines, mechanical and electrical appliances, chemical products and food products.
Both China and Portugal lost ground due to the increase in imports from other sources, which increased in 2023, such as the United Arab Emirates, the United States of America and the United Kingdom
India remained stable in third place, with 1.09 billion dollars, which represented 7.19% of the total imported in 2023.
The Angolan central bank report for 2023 reports on a year marked by inflation dynamics in the first half of the year.
With the reduction of state subsidies for gasoline, the exchange rate shock resulted in a depreciation of the national currency against the dollar in the order of 13.08% and 29.07% in the months of May and June, respectively, which forced the interruption the easing of monetary policy and keeping rates unchanged until the fourth quarter, in the face of inflationary pressures.
The prices of goods and services in the Angolan economy were marked by a persistent acceleration in the second half of the year, changing the deceleration profile observed in 2022.
Annual inflation was 20%, with the “Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages” class weighing heavily on this performance.
“The slowdown in the growth rate of the non-oil sector, below the population growth rate, associated with the depreciation of the national currency and the reduction in imports, particularly food, has accentuated the imbalance between supply and demand for goods and services in the economy”, states the BNA document.
Lusa
