Mozambique company Macs-In-Moz, with farms situated in Sussundenga district of central-west Manica province, its shareholders, together with a Dutch government investment assistance programme (PSI), have concluded a deal where 150 hectares of the latest export-type of avocado cultivars will be planted in the next 30 months.
Planting will begin in February 2014. By June, the first 60ha of avocado trees under perennial micro-jet irrigation will have been established, and by June 2015, 150ha of avocado orchards are due to have been planted.
“Our new company, Moz Avos Limitada, intends to consolidate its first phase development at 200ha of avos under micro-jet irrigation by the end of 2016.” says CEO Howard Blight.
The Moz Avo technical team have completed the first sensitivity analysis with local West-Indian type mature seedling trees in the area, indexing them for sun-blotch virus. Certain of those trees that are free of the virus have been selected as a source-of-seed for the building of a state-of-the-art avocado nursery that will be completed towards the end of this year, 2013. By April of 2014 the company will have 60 000 to 70 000 seedlings established and ready for grafting by September to November of the same year.
And, added Christo Breytenbach, MD of both Macs-In-Moz and Moz Avos: “It’s all quite exciting, we will export this early fruit directly onto the South African market, into a high-priced market-place.”
The cultivar trails of Maluma, planted in Mozambique in January of 2010 have yielded well on the young trees and the first indications are that this fruit will be ripe up to three weeks earlier than anywhere in South Africa.
There are already several South African farmers who, in recent months, have invested in large leased farms in the Sussundenga area. And, on the strength of the Moz Avos initiative, have in-turn committed themselves to establishing avocado orchards.
