| Mahajanga, formerly Majunga, town in northwestern Madagascar,
capital of Mahajanga Province, on Bombetoka Bay, an inlet of
Mozambique Channel, at the mouth of the Betsiboka River. The
second largest port of Madagascar, the town of Mahajanga is
a road terminus and trade center that exports sugar, coffee,
spices, cassava (manioc), vegetable oils, timber, and vanilla.
Industries include meat processing; fishing; sugar, rice, fiber,
and vegetable-oil milling; sawmilling; and the manufacture of
soap, cement, paper, tallow, bags, and rum. Mahajanga also has
machine shops, and the surrounding area abounds in extensive
coffee plantations. The city is the site of a teachers college,
technical schools, a cotton-research institute, and a municipal
stadium. Mahajanga was founded by Arabs about 1700. Population
(1993) 100,807.
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