Maputo — Mozambique is in a good position to export high quality organic produce to the European market, according to the government's Export Promotion Institute (IPEX).

According to Jose Jossias, advisor to the IPEX Board of Directors, under a project financed by Holland, Mozambique will export to the European Union cashew nuts, pineapples, mangoes, green beans, chilli peppers, groundnuts and handicrafts over the next three years.

These products were chosen for the project after analyzing European demand and potential of Mozambican producers. "We identified constraints concerning quality, the quantity of goods, packing and certification", Jossias said. "What we want in this project is to sell goods that the market wants, and for this we have to respect certain requirements".

Farmers and artisans who can meet the demands of the European market have been selected from Nampula, Cabo Delgado, Sofala, Inhambane, Manica, Gaza and Maputo provinces.

"For the handicrafts we selected Nampula and part of Cabo Delgado", said Jossias. "The cashew nuts and the groundnuts will come from Nampula, the chillies are from Manica, Inhambane and Maputo, the green beans are from Maputo, the mangoes from Manica, and we chose the Chungamoio association in Sofala to produce the pineapples".

To meet the requirements of the European Union market, the Mozambican farmers will receive technical advice from the Centre for Promoting Imports from Development Countries, which is an agency of the Dutch Foreign Ministry.

Holland is financing the project with 1.2 million euros (about 1.6 million US dollars).

"The project will last for three years", said Jossias, "but the seven products will only be placed on the market in phases, as they meet the European requirements".