Concern in Mozambique as counterfeit alcoholic drinks flood the market

The National Association of Producers and Importers of Alcoholic Beverages has now appealed for awareness campaigns, tougher legislation, and training for inspectors and technicians in order to better monitor the alcoholic beverages market. 

“Networks of corruption” and inadequate resources within the relevant government departments are being blamed. The lower prices that consumers are being charged for counterfeit products is also fuelling the demand. 

In a recent interview with AIM, the official news agency in Mozambique, the Director of the National Inspectorate of Economic Activities (INAE), Ana Rita Freitas, said the inspectorate was being hampered by having neither the training nor the equipment to carry out laboratory tests on products to test if they are genuine or not.  

“Unfortunately, INAE can’t prove whether a gin or whisky is counterfeit or not. INAE has neither the training nor the equipment to carry out laboratory tests. There is a need to establish collaboration with partners who can provide experts on the matter,” she is quoted as saying. 

Freitas also acknowledged corruption as a factor, saying “there are a lot of crooks in this area” and telling AIM that seized illegal drinks often found their way back onto the market again. 

According to Freitas, the market is now “saturated” with drinks “of dubious quality”. 

Zimbabwe concerned at counterfeit groceries 

Zimbabwe is currently involved in a crackdown on counterfeit and smuggled goods, particularly grocery products being sold through tuck shops and vending stalls. 

Speaking to the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Industry and Commerce in late February, Douglas Runyowa, Chief Director for Commerce in the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, said the influx of these goods is at alarming levels. 

“Most of what we have seen in the informal sector is quite shocking. In our awareness programmes we are warning people that, while some of these products might be cheap, they come at the expense of health because we cannot guarantee their safety,” Runyowa told the parliamentary body. 

“The results [of a study the department] showed that 50% of these products did not comply with the required standards. You can find fake Vaseline, fake flour, fake rice, fake toothpaste – and this is an alarming situation.”