For the president of the Association of Bakery and Pastry Industries of Angola (AIPPA), Gilberto Simão, the measure “is commendable” as it reflects “nationalism and patriotism”.
Speaking to Lusa, Gilberto Simão, who praised the President of the Republic for the initiative and the Minister of Industry and Commerce for his “courage”, considered that the measure should have been implemented a long time ago and that it contributes to the diversification of the economy and the increase in production and internal productivity.
The businessman, linked to the primary, industrial and commercial sector, added that the authorities' initiative should also curb the “unfair competition” that he said existed in corn imports.
“I have contacts with large corn producers who sometimes have silos full of corn and are unable to sell it because of unfair competition from imported corn. Therefore, it is a good measure,” he insisted.
Last month, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce determined the suspension of import licensing for wheat flour, cornmeal, refined sunflower, palm and soybean oils, school and professional lab coats, uniforms, including those for military and police use, confectionery products, drywall panels and hospital supplies.
According to the directive dated April 30, the measure emanates from a presidential decree that approved the Legal Regime for Incentives to National Production “as an economic policy instrument that aims to promote and significantly increase the domestic supply of consumer goods, with a consequent gradual reduction in imports and diversification of exports”.
According to the president of AIPPA, globalization is an “economic phenomenon that prevents Angola from producing and diversifying its economy”, especially because oil, the country’s largest source of revenue, is what “pays off right away”, welcoming the measure as a step towards diversifying the economy.
Gilberto Simão also defended measures to regulate wheat imports, noting that Angola spends between 300 and 400 million dollars annually on imports of this cereal, suggesting that the country does not have sufficient wheat production to satisfy 10 percent of its domestic needs “because the import lobbies do not allow it”.
The service order from the Ministry of Industry and Commerce was also marked with satisfaction by the president of the Angolan Industrialists Association (AIA), José Severino, for whom the Government is committed to defending national production.
The businessman considered that the bet in defending national production is to resort to all instruments that provide this possibility (such as the aforementioned dispatch), noting, however, that it is a suspension and not a prohibition.
“Note that there is talk of suspension, but it is not yet a ban. The way the order was issued suggests that it is a radical ban, but it is not. We have already spoken with the minister [of Industry and Commerce], because the AIA is against bans (…)”, he told Lusa.
José Severino argued, on the other hand, that the suspension should not prevent ongoing processes from having their respective dispatch, saying that there are imports “useful to contain presumed price speculation and the low quality of locally produced products”.
“When we try to defend our production, we cannot create a position that we are sanctioning third parties, this cannot be perceived by exporters, countries, governments, that we are sanctioning them for any reason. No, Angola does not sanction”, concluded the AIA leader.
