Fruit terminal at Maputo port will benefit citrus farmers

Maputo port would start building a multimillion-rand fresh produce export terminal this year, Vista News reported yesterday.

This project was revealed by Brenda Horne, the chief executive of the Maputo Corridor Logistics Initiative, in a message in the organisation's publication, Newsflash.

She said the Industrial Development Corporation and a consortium of private equity partners had just concluded a financial package to build and operate a state-of-the-art fresh produce export terminal at the Maputo port.

The facility, valued at R30 million, would be able to handle 70 000 tons of citrus in a six-month season and 10 000 tons of frozen juice.

"This increase in capacity of the Maputo port and the fact that there is now weekly direct sailing from Maputo to the Far East will save South African farmers about R15 million a year in inland logistics costs," Horne said.

Source: busrep.co.za