On 16 May the first cold storage in the Matola Cargo Terminal, an investment by The TLG Group, will be opened, coming right on time for the new citrus season, as planned.
Currently all of the citrus handled at the Maputo Fruit terminal hails from South Africa, for which there is a special arrangement for perishable product passing through the Komati border post into Mozambique.
“All Middle East and Far East cargo that are not cold treatment protocol-driven can come,” says Paulo Franco, managing director of the FPT Group which owns and operates private terminals at the ports of Durban, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town.
Putting the finishing touches to the cold store which will open in a week's time
“We’re opening with initially 1,500 pallet capacity and probably by next year we’ll grow to 4,500 pallet capacity.”
The operational management will be done by Sean Gent and Flobela Trancoso of Matola Cargo Terminal, while the planning and capacity allocation will be done by FPT Durban Terminal.
As for the eventual inclusion of citrus to markets that require a cold steri regime, Paulo says that they are working on the required protocols with all stakeholders to expedite it for next season.
For more information:
Paulo Franco
FPT
Email: paulo_franco@fpt.co.za
https://fpt.co.za/
Sean Gent
Matola Cargo Terminal
Email: sean_gent@mct.co.mz
http://www.mct.co.mz/