Luanda, Aug. 26, 2025 (Lusa) - Angola's oil sector fell by 8% in the last quarter, the Minister of State for Economic Coordination said on Tuesday, describing a scenario "with moments of slight growth, but now and then, a sharp downturn".
José de Lima Massano was speaking during a meeting with food industry operators, which took place at the Foodetec industrial unit at the Viana Industrial Estate, to analyse the state of the sector and assess the challenges and opportunities.
According to José de Lima Massano, the Angolan economy needs to be solid enough to compensate for the behaviour of the oil sector, which continues to weigh the Angolan economy at almost 20%, but which has been falling back, with "agro rising", followed by the commerce sector.
"Hence the importance of having the non-oil sector with great dynamism, particularly where Angola has high potential from the outset, and here we are talking about the primary sector, this in conjunction with the food processing sector, because of the impact it has," said José de Lima Massano.
The minister stressed that Angola has sought stable interaction with neighbouring countries, as they are an important market for the expansion of its activity, also highlighting the strategic partnership agreement signed on Monday in Luanda with the United Arab Emirates, "which also opens up a new window of opportunity," in addition to the regional and continental markets.
José de Lima Massano emphasised that Angola has great potential and the opportunities must be seized, pointing out that the country is already highly self-sufficient in fruit and vegetables, as well as tubers.
"Today we have sweet potatoes, reindeer potatoes, which also have a significant level of autonomy. In the field of fisheries, the picture is well known, we have some challenges for our organisation of the whole chain, allowing these products also to reach consumers more competitively and at a fairer price, in meat production we also have interesting initiatives taking place all over the country," he said.
Concerning pork, there are concrete initiatives that will also, "in a very short time, bring about major transformations", with the prospect of the country achieving a greater degree of autonomy by 2026, with goat meat production not being a concern, emphasised José de Lima Massano.
Speaking to the press, Angola's minister for industry and trade, Rui Miguêns de Oliveira, said that the meeting had addressed issues such as intensifying the country's capacity to produce the essential food it consumes, as well as how to ensure the quality of that production and its distribution.
Rui Miguêns emphasised the significant, "sustainable and constant" growth of industrial food production, with the capacity to cover all the goods widely consumed by the population, in some segments.
At the meeting, the entrepreneurs raised concerns about regulations, the intervention of public organisations in their needs and the evolution of the market.
"What we have said is that, in the first place, the government is still committed to providing support in terms of public funding mechanisms and instruments, wherever possible and necessary, and the government is also ensuring that infrastructure will continue to be our main focus," said the minister.
At the same time, continued Rui Miguêns de Oliveira, the government has been looking at reducing bureaucracy in processes, "something that has also been happening".
NME/ADB // ADB.
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