a lifetime's experience in
M O Z A M B I Q U E
August 03 - August 04
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Information > Money
Click here to see some Mozambican money.
The currency in Mozambique is the metical, this is a word rarely used however, as there are currently about 40 000 meticais to the pound, and 24 000 to the dollar. When we arrived there were 'only' 35 000 to the pound, showing things have changed a little. The smallest denomination is the 500 meticais coin, and the largest is the 100 000 meticais note. You feel very rich when you hold a couple of hundred thousand notes in your hand, and although one is only worth about £2.50 that still makes you a rich man in Mozambique, where an average daily wage is only about 60p. So what will your meticais buy you?
The 500 meticais coin is worth a whopping 1.25 pence. About the only singular thing you can buy with it is a piece of bolo or doce, snacks sold day in, day out by the same people just outside the market. Bolo is a small cake tasting something like a dougnut, and doce is a made almost wholly from sugar.
A 1 000 meticais coin, worth 2.5 pence, will buy you a small roll of bread from the bakery outlet near our house. You can also buy a slightly bigger piece of doce, a whole cob of sweetcorn or a box of matches, imported from Malawi.
2 000, 5 pence, will get you a high strength plastic bag, very useful in the market. It also buys a sachet of Jolly Jus, add 2 litres of water to the powder to get an instant cheap drink, or a packet of chicken stock.
Once upon a time 2 500 (6.25 pence) would have bought an egg, but these have since gone up in price, first to 3 000 and then to 3 500. It will also buy a small excercise book, with "Property of Malawi government" written across it.
In the market produce will cost you differnet amounts depending on how much you want, and also what time of year it is: food seemed to get cheaper once we crossed into the rainy season. MZM 5 000 (12.5 pence) will get you a cup of rice, or a smallish pile of onions or tomatoes. It also buys a packet of the Mozambique made biscuits that we buy on a regular basis.
A glass bottle of refresco (softdrinks; either Coke, Fanta or Sprite) will cost 10 000 (25p), or you could also buy a can of drink from the street, but it will be warm. For the same price in the market you can get an average sized pile of potatoes, some carrots, a toilet roll, a bar of soap, a packet of tea or a pack of candels. From the bakery you can buy a loaf of bread, and from Pousada a very nice if slightly overly priced samoosa.
A slightly odd amount perhaps, but 12 500 meticais (31.5 pence) will get you a 500g packet of pasta or spaghetti.
15 000 (37.5 pence) will get you a cold can of drink from a shop. This will also get you a cheap "stainless steel" knife, which if you're lucky will only start to rust within two or three weeks!
With a green 20 000 meticais note (50p) you can pay for a small bottle of oil, a 250g tub of Dutch margarine or a tin of Thai tuna. Outside of the market it will also pay for a haircut.
MZM 25 000 (62.5 pence) will get you half a litre of cold beer at any drinking establishment. Down at Quinta it will also get you a tin of homemade guava jam, which we are big fans of!
To send an airmail letter will cost you 33 000 (82.5 pence). In true post office style they always like you to have the correct change, so why they charge such an unhelpful amount is beyond me!
Into the big money now! 45 000 (£1.13) gets you a bottle of Colgate shampoo, which comes in many varieties, including Herb and some fruity thing!
50 000 (£1.25) will buy a pair of cheap flip flops (very handy in the rain), a tub of instant Ricafe (coffee), as well as a kilo of meat in the market.
About 60 000 (£1.50) will make a big bag of charcoal (for cooking on) yours, although this is a price that fluctuates a lot.
70 000 (£1.75) is the cost for a chapa to take you to Mandimba, our nearest border town, and also to Metangula, on the lake.
And the really big deals... About 1 100 000 (£27.30) is the asking price for a new bike, one of the more popular modes of transport in and around Lichinga. The mobile phone dealers mCel's cheapest phone (or cell) is yours for 2 400 000 (£60). We are paid in American dollars, but our monthly wage in meticais is 3 600 000 (£90), which is US$150. 7 000 000 (£175) is the cheapest deal LAM, the national airline, has on offer for a return trip to the capital, Maputo.
