There is growing demand for cold storage facilities in Mozambique, according to the United States government’s International Trade Administration (ITA).It says that improving food availability in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is directly related to reducing food losses and waste, in addition to improving supply chains.Post-harvest losses in SSA are the highest in the world, in part due to a lack of reliable logistics cold chains. This is confirmed in an article published by Fresh Plaza, which states “the true problem for the country is the lack of chilled logistics and of infrastructures between production and consumption”.Fresh Plaza was reporting on the participation by seven Mozambican agro enterprises in the annual MACFRUT Fair held in Italy during September.Potential growth markets for Mozambican produce are both internal and external.Up to 2019 there was a steady increase in food imports. Demand could be met by local growers if they had the right logistics in place, according to various studies. Mozambique’s agriculture sector contributed 24% of GDP to the economy and provided means of income to more than 70% of the population in 2018.However, post-harvest losses exceeded 30% of output and are pinpointed as the main cause of alarming levels of food insecurity, according to the ITA. Contributors to post-harvest loss in Mozambique include long distances between harvest and distribution points, the lack of cold storage, as well as poor transportation.Cooling and storage of crops require an intensive supply of energy, which cripples adequate cold chain infrastructure to small-scale farmers who lack capital and electricity supply, the ITA states.Support for logistics solutions comes from the government of Mozambique, which has allocated 10% of its budget to transforming smallholder farmers into sustainable entrepreneurs. In February 2020, Mozambique President Filipe Nyusi launched the SUSTENTA Initiative, a programme supported by the World Bank, which aims to integrate rural households into sustainable agriculture and forest-based value chains.The initial grant amount is valued at $60 million, which will support farmers with training and financing, and improve supporting services. Cold storage technologies in demand for small-scale production include passive/evaporative coolers, absorption refrigerators, solar grid refrigerators, precooling and cold rooms, and packhouses and automated ripening chambers.An example of the difference made by cold room technology is AusmozFarmholdings, a large commercial farm located in Manica Province of Mozambique, about 40km from the Zimbabwean border.Its main products are litchis and avocadosfor export.The company was suffering significant losses when it relied on cooling inside refrigerated containers.Since installing a 60-square-metre cold room, which can handle 32 pallets at a time and bring the fruit down to 1-2 degrees Celsius before packing into reefers for air and sea transport, the company has suffered no losses, according to the cold room supplier InspiraFarms.In 2020 Ausmoz exported over 90 tons of litchis and avocados, mainly to the United Kingdom and Europe. Post-harvest losses exceed 30% of output and are pinpointed as the main cause of alarming levels of food insecurity– US International Trade Administration
