An ongoing strike at the Xinavane plantation and mill, 90km north of Maputo, Mozambique is affecting production.
To avert the situation, Agriculture Minister Celso Correia, has said there was an urgent need for an agreement between the striking workers and their employers.
The minister said the strike would have a great impact on Mozambique’s sugar production levels, and therefore, there was a need to establish a lasting dialogue between the two parties to avoid huge financial losses.
“Now conditions have been put in place for workers and employers to return to the negotiating table, and consequently, for the workers to return as possible to their jobs so that the mill resumes production,” Correia said.
He said the government would keep a close eye on the developments taking place.
Meanwhile, the general secretary of Mozambique’s trade union federation, the Organisation of Mozambican Workers (OTM), Alexandre Munguambe, deplored the low wages paid by the sugar industry in Mozambique, unlike the other countries, where the company operates.
Munguambe said the workers were paid an equivalent of US$2.60 a day.
“We urge dialogue between the two side, not only when there is a strike, but at every moment of the production process,” he said.
Sugar production in Mozambique fell by 12%, as a result of the heavy rains, repeated cyclones, and the Covid-19 restrictions.
This resulted in annual production being reduced from 306 000 to 271 000 tonnes.
The production capacity of the four sugar mills in Mozambique is 530 000, and the highest production reached in recent years was 425 000 tonnes in 2014.
However, the Agriculture Minister believes it is possible to raise production to 500 000 tonnes by 2030.
Mozambique employs about 34 000 permanent and seasonal workers at its sugar mills and cane plantations, which cover 47 000 hectares. The average annual value of sugar exports between 2019 and 2021 was US$86 million. This is 14% of all agricultural exports.
Meanwhile, violent scenes have been recorded in Xinavane when houses, vehicles, and 50 000 hectares of sugar cane were set on fire by the strike workers.
