Fresh Produce Terminals targets 100 000 pallets

LEONARD NEILL
TARGET HIGH and gains will come your way. That’s the motto of Paulo Franco, general manager of Maputo’s Fresh Produce Terminals (FPT).
The company loaded 74 000 pallets of export perishable produce last year. For the current season, which got underway in April, 85 000 pallets is the target. But that’s not enough, he says.
“It shows a 12% projected increase on last year’s achievements, but I want to go higher. I have set a personal target of 100 000 pallets.
I feel it is within our capabilities and now that exporters are starting to believe that we can do the work, the volumes are increasing all the time,” he says.
Also on the increase is the number of vessels now calling at Maputo, although Franco wants to see more calling at the port.
“There’s definitely a show of interest from the various shipping lines but not sufficient yet to bring on the smiles,” he says. “In fact, current shipping opportunities rank as one of the main restrictions to operations. Give us more ships and a good growing season for the fruit and watch our steam!”
Keeping in line with the general development in the port, FPT recently invested R1.7million in equipment to upgrade its own facilities, most of which has gone into the provision of new refrigeration equipment.
“You can also say we invest a good deal in service satisfaction. We are strong in handling exports to the Middle East and Far East, and recently have seen volumes increasing for sailings to Europe. This may mean a little increase in shipping charges, with vessels sailing around the Cape. But Mpumalanga and other nearby fruit growers have seen a big drop in
land transport costs by diverting their deliveries to Maputo rather than hauling them all the way to South African ports.
“I make no bones about the fact that we will fight Durban all the way, and I’m confident we will win. The future in Maputo harbour is looking brighter all the time.”