Mozambique continues to be a stronghold for Rangel Logistics which sees significant opportunity in the African country where it opened its first office in 2012.According to Antonio Simões, country manager for Rangel Mozambique, the value proposition has been in the ability to offer customers a different kind of solution from what they were used to.“Clients need only one point of contact for all their import and export needs, while they have options in terms of how they pay the charges. This can be pre-paid or collect,” says Simões.He believes the country offers potential for logistics companies as it imports a lot of its consumer goods, while it also has important extractive products for the export market.“Industrial products of Mozambican origin represent a very small export share, however imports represent the biggest attraction for logistics companies. In addition to FMCG, pharmaceuticals and construction materials are major trends and are quite important for the market.”Moving cargo over long distances remained one of the biggest challenges in the country. “The distance from Maputo in the south to the northern provinces is more than 2 500 kilometres, and the distances from the seaports to the hinterland are also long. This requires a hands-on team to operate and control the transit and local deliveries. Mozambique is a hinterland country, and due to its infrastructure, it becomes a challenging market to guarantee a good offer,” said Simões.He points out that Mozambique has faced some challenging times, including the insurgency last year and the impact of the Covid pandemic. “It is slowly but surely recovering, and a lot of change is happening. The future for the country is in oil and gas, but all the actions to ensure that Mozambique is on the list of the main producing countries may result in great opportunities for logistics companies. As a consequence, consumption behaviour will change, making consumers more demanding, thus developing a new paradigm for the Mozambican market.”He says the associated infrastructure required to service the oil and gas projects alone will offer opportunity.“We have a very positive outlook and believe that the country will play an increasingly important role in oil and gas as well as other commodities. It is also a place to easily introduce a transformer industry. And, when we think about a country with a young population, this is Mozambique.”Simões said ongoing investment in infrastructure was required. “It already has some international airports, but they are not the best for cargo aircraft. The road network also needs to be developed over the next few years so that the country can offer better logistics solutions. With a revolution in airport conditions and the road network, Mozambique will be open to the world for business development, including cross-border countries.”Finally, regarding the increasing investment that Rangel is making in the African continent, Simões says: "We are strengthening our strategy and positioning as cross-border specialists on the African continent. We recently opened facilities in Zeerust and have a planned opening in Nakop by the end of the year. Durban and Cape Town in South Africa are still scheduled to open in 2023.”
