IMPORTS

Angola is about to clamp down on certain foreign food imports

By our African Marketing Confederation News Team | 2026

The latest decree forms part of Angola’s ongoing efforts to reduce its high level of dependence on imported food products.

Angola has announced a new regulation requiring food importers to purchase at least 20% of selected products from local producers before selling them in the domestic market.  

 

Poultry, pork, refined sugar, broken white rice and tilapia (a popular freshwater fish) are among the designated priority sectors under Executive Decree No. 130/26. The decree was published on 22 May 2026 and comes into effect 30 days after publication.  

 

This a part Angola’s ongoing efforts to reduce its dependence on imported food. Despite possessing extensive arable land, only around 15% is said to be under cultivation, meaning the country spends billions annually on food imports.

The decree also requires distributors and retailers to ensure Angolan-produced goods are given visible shelf placement. Practices that restrict consumer access to locally produced products are not allowed.

Crane lifting a red shipping container among stacked colorful containers in a port yard under a blue sky with clouds reflecting on wet pavement

Photo: Alex Levis from Pexels

“Poultry and pork were included in the regulation because they remain the country’s largest imported protein categories, while tilapia was selected due to the government’s interest in expanding domestic aquaculture production to meet growing demand,” reports the publication ‘Food Business Middle East and Africa’. 

 

“According to available industry estimates, Angola imports about 300,000 tonnes of frozen chicken each year from suppliers in Brazil, the United States and the European Union, while domestic poultry production is projected to reach around 60,000 tonnes in 2026.” 

 

Xinhua, the Chinese-based news agency, quotes the Minister of Industry and Commerce, Rui Miguens de Oliveira, as saying that anyone wishing to import 100 tonnes of pork will have to prove to the Ministry of Industry and Commerce that they will acquire, have contracted, or are in the process of acquiring at least 20 tonnes from national producers. 

 

“Products of national production will always have some prominence in our commercial units”, the minister said, noting that compliance checks will begin during the import licensing process. 

 

Government has formalised a key component of its import substitution strategy 

 

Meanwhile, a report compiled by the United States Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service notes: “By requiring importers of selected food products to procure at least 20% of their intended import volume from domestic producers as a condition for obtaining or renewing import licenses, the Government of Angola has formalised a key component of its import substitution strategy.  

 

“The decree substantially increases the commercial relevance of the strategy and raises the likelihood of tangible impacts on trade flows for poultry, rice, sugar, pork and tilapia, and potentially more. Although it may create incentives for local production and investment partnerships, the more immediate effect could be a barrier to trade.  

 

“[Foreign Agricultural Service] contacts suggest that the decree may not be fully enforced in the near term because local suppliers currently lack sufficient production capacity to meet the 20% local procurement requirement mandated by the Government of Angola.”

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