Government of Mozambique will hand over silo management to private companies
The government of Mozambique is finalising the specifications for the launch of a public tender to hand over the management of grain storage silos to private entities, the Minister of Industry and Trade said in Nampula recently.
The programme to build the silos, which began in 2009, was designed by the government and is part of the implementation of the Comprehensive Plan for Agricultural Marketing, whose main objective is to improve the storage of agricultural products, particularly grain and encourage the emergence of more agro-processing industries.
Minister Max Tonela, quoted by daily newspaper Notícias, acknowledged that expectations the government had for the scheme had not be met, which led the authorities to seek quick and sustainable alternatives to ensure the construction of these silos and warehouses as had initially been planned.
The newspaper added that the idea of private sector involvement in silo management has been advocated since the programme’s inception in 2009, although its implementation remains conditioned by bureaucracy.
The management of grain silos and warehouses is the responsibility of the Mozambique Commodities Exchange, a government institution established in October 2012 to serve as a supply and demand platform, focusing initially on products such as corn, beans, sesame and soy, and later also covering non-agricultural products.
