Mozambique : Govt Approved New Cotton Prices

After series of meeting in last month with the parties involved in cotton marketing new minimum producer cotton prices has been approved by the Mozambican government's National Wages and Prices Commission.

According to a press release from the Agriculture Ministry, the minimum price for a kilo of first grade cotton rises from last year's 3,000 meticais to 3,800 meticais (at current exchange rates, there are about 24,000 meticais to the US dollar).

The price for second grade cotton rises from 2,200 to 3,000 meticais a kilo.

These prices were the consensus reached between the associations of peasant cotton producers, and the concessionary companies who provide seeds and other inputs for the cotton campaign, and purchase the peasants' production.

The initial demand from the peasants was for a minimum price of 5,000 meticais a kilo for first grade cotton, and 3,000 meticais a kilo for second grade. The offer from the companies was 3,700 and 2,600 meticais a kilo.