Maputo, Mozambique — Mozambique's total exports of fisheries products were estimated at 15,800 tonnes, valued at about 109.3 million US dollars in 2000, the ministry of fisheries says in a report quoted by the national news agency, AIM.

According to the document, the figures represent a growth of 13 percent in terms of tonnage, and 20 percent in terms of earnings over exports in 1999.

But exports by weight were less than the target figure of 16,320 tonnes.

However, earnings were far higher than the projected figure of 87.5 million dollars, thanks to the increase in the price of a few key fisheries products on the international market.

Prawns are far and away the most important export as their price rose six percent between 1999 and 2000, the report indicates.

Mozambique exported 9,729 tonnes of prawns in 2000, which earned 92.4 million dollars. This compares with 8,000 tonnes of prawn exports in 1999, which brought in 72 million dollars.

It adds that lobsters and the freshwater fish kapenta also showed a significant growth, both in exports and in revenue.

Thus Mozambique exported 102 tonnes of lobsters, worth 1.1 million dollars, compared with the 77 tonnes that gained 847,000 dollars in 1999.

As for kapenta, which is fished on Cahora Bassa Lake and exported to Zimbabwe, the document says that Maputo earned 3.8 million dollars for the export of 3,813 tonnes, whereas 2,832 tonnes that was exported in 1999, reaped 3.3 million dollars.

Exports of sea fish and of crabs fell sharply by 32 percent and 38 percent respectively.

Some 631 tonnes of sea fish were exported in 2000 compared with 33 tonnes in 1999, while crab exports declined from 120 tonnes to 78 tonnes.

Most of the Mozambican fisheries products are exported to European Union countries, especially Spain, Italy, Portugal and Britain.