It was in June of this year that the province of Cunene became the best supplier of sugar cane to the neighboring country, with at least fifty citizens turning to the market every day to purchase large quantities of the plant. Sugar cane - sold between 100 and 400 kwanzas, depending on size - arrives from all over Angola, with special emphasis on the provinces of Huambo and Huíla.
To Angop, Maria Lena, one of the sellers at the market in Ondjiva, stated that per month she manages to transport two trucks of sugarcane from Huambo to Cunene. It does so because the market in the southern province is currently the most profitable for the business.
Manuel Woya, whose production arrives from Calumbeque, in Huíla, considered that sales are satisfactory in Cunene, as there are good buyers from Namibia in the province's market. Also in Huíla it is possible to find Oshomukuio Margarida de Fátima, from the municipality of Chibia, who considers sales and income encouraging, being her family's means of subsistence.
On the other side of the border comes Namibian Hitotelwa Dikonia, who confirms that trading sugar cane is a good business, buying it cheaper in Angola and then reselling it in his country. Each week, his purchases amount to 80 thousand kwanzas - getting four sugar canes for 500 kwanzas - later reselling the same amount for around 30 Namibian dollars in Windhoek.
Angolan traders only point to national customs as the biggest difficulty, since the charge for Angola is lower (200 kwanzas) than what Namibians pay (500 Namibian dollars).
It should be remembered that the Santa Clara border post, which connects Angola to Namibia in the province of Cunene, is considered one of the largest entry and exit points in the country, taking into account the recorded volume of commercial exchanges. Through this post, the majority of food goods, clothing, animal feed, telecommunications material and goods for the mining sector enter Angola.
Cunene and Namibia share a 460-kilometer border, 340 of which are land and 120 are river.
