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Abstract
This paper analyzes the effects of the opening of trade with Malawi on producer and
consumer prices in Mozambique. It finds that prices were positively and significantly affected
by this trade in the north of the country, where agroecological potential is greatest and rural
population densities are highest. Prices in the main urban centers of the south and center were
unaffected. Overall, most producers benefited from the trade while most consumers were not
affected. The paper concludes that Mozambique should lobby aggressively for open trade in maize
within the SADC Trade Protocol. It suggests, however, that the country must look beyond Malawi in
developing its export markets, and that the SADC region is likely to provide a market for exports
during most years. Finally, it emphasizes that efforts to intensify maize production are likely
to fail in the absence of such trade, so that initiatives to deal with the institutional and
technical challenges of intensification must be pursued in the context of developing these
regional markets.