The Bank of Mozambique (BdM) has extended by a further six months the mandatory conversion into meticais of 50% of foreign currency export revenues, prolonging a measure first introduced in April 2025 to increase the availability of foreign exchange in the domestic market. The decision comes as businesses continue to report difficulties accessing hard currency, even as the central bank rejects the notion of a generalised shortage.

The extension is set out in Notice No. 7/GBM/2026, cited by Lusa, and takes effect from 9 October, following the expiry of the initial 18-month transitional period.

The regime was introduced in April 2025, when the BdM raised from 30% to 50% the share of export revenues from goods, services, and income from overseas investments that must be converted into local currency.

At the time, the regulator justified the decision as the creation of an “exceptional and transitional foreign exchange mechanism, aimed at minimising the effects of the current socioeconomic situation.”

In practice, exporters remain obliged to convert half of the revenues covered by the regime into meticais through the domestic banking system, while retaining the remaining portion in foreign currency in accordance with applicable regulations.

The measure seeks to boost the supply of foreign exchange in the domestic market and facilitate the financing of imports and other international transactions.

Prior to the April 2025 revision, Notice No. 5/GBM/2024 had set the mandatory conversion rate at 30%. In the new notice, the BdM provides no detailed justification for extending the regime, citing only the “need to extend this deadline.”

The decision comes against a backdrop in which the government has acknowledged that difficulties in accessing foreign currency weighed on economic performance and revenue collection in the first half of 2026.

According to the budget execution report of the Ministry of Finance, results fell short of projections due to both internal and external constraints, including limitations on access to foreign exchange.

The document states that performance “was negatively influenced” by the “non-payment of offshore services rendered by non-resident entities, due to the scarcity of foreign currency.”

This assessment stands in contrast to the position of BdM Governor Felisberto Navalha, who in September rejected the existence of a generalised hard currency shortage in the financial system.

Central Bank Points to Increase in Foreign Exchange Operations

According to Felisberto Navalha, by August commercial banks had purchased approximately US$5.7 billion in foreign currency from exporters and other economic agents, some US$724 million more than in the same period of 2025.

Over the same interval, banks’ foreign currency sales to clients rose by US$593 million, reaching approximately US$5.6 billion.

For the governor, these figures show that claims of a foreign exchange shortage should be treated “with caution.”

Felisberto Navalha also disclosed that the central bank had held meetings with banking institutions to identify any constraints in the functioning of the foreign exchange market, acknowledging isolated deficiencies at some financial institutions.

Despite the increase in foreign exchange operations, several business sectors continue to report difficulties in obtaining hard currency to finance imports, make international payments, and execute transfers abroad.

The president of the Confederation of Economic Associations of Mozambique (CTA), Álvaro Massingue, had previously described the situation as an “economic emergency.”