ENABLING AFRICA'S CITRUS FARMERS TO THRIVE

Mozambique and neighbours, Eswatini and Zimbabwe, are home to a blossoming African citrus fruit industry run by generational farmers. To add juice to these businesses and the communities who depend on them, DP World has transformed Mozambique’s port of Maputo and the region’s transport network - taking the local citrus industry to international heights.

Sowing the seeds for growth

Oranges, lemons, grapefruits, and limes are the fruits of the labour and livelihoods of thousands of people in Mozambique. Not only does this fruit sustain communities, but their production provides rural communities with work, bolstering the economy and supporting families. In Mozambique alone, the agricultural sector contributes to nearly 30 percent of GDP, so must be protected and nurtured for long-term gain.

Sharing the fruits of labour

Citrus farming is central to the economies of Mozambique, Eswatini, and Zimbabwe, while also contributing to Africa’s food security. With the right support, the businesses behind these farms can provide food and work security for their local communities while fortifying areas of the world that can't, for various reasons, produce their own agricultural products– like the Middle East.

However, despite the opportunity existing for many years, the region’s citrus fruit trade has been constrained within Africa. The expense of farming paired with a lack of modern trade infrastructure means farmers’ ability to transport their fruit to new markets is restricted by how fast their produce perishes.

Future-ready solutions to grow economies

Connecting these businesses with the port of Maputo was the first step in unleashing opportunity for south African citrus trade – a move that created a valuable food security network that benefited the economy while futureproofing food resources for global communities. Other renowned Mozambique products, including tea and fertiliser, also prosper as a result of this modernised infrastructure, boosting the entire agricultural sector and the people behind it.

Teams at DP World Maputo worked closely with family-run farms throughout the region to understand their business needs. One of the outcomes of this dialogue was the identified need was reefer logistics: chilled storage solutions for transporting produce en-masse, keeping it in good condition wherever it is headed. This significantly cut down product wastage and enabled the region’s fruit to be sold globally, helping the local economy reap the benefits of international trade.

Despite their rural locations, citrus farmers in Mozambique, Eswatini, and Zimbabwe can now tap into multimodal logistic solutions and global shipping through one party: DP World. Further, thanks to ongoing investment, public roads now connect these countries and the farmers to the port where they couldn’t before. Trucks can now collect produce from farms, and rail solutions further connect local businesses to Maputo’s international trade gateway, allowing them to focus on doing what they do best: growing fruit. This end-to-end offering keeps prices low for these farmers while connecting them to buyers worldwide – many of whom are now dependent on this fruit resource for national food security.

DP World is making a positive impact on the communities where it operates across the globe – and when it comes to Africa, it has an integral role in connecting the vast Southern African hinterland with key markets within Africa and globally. Modernising the port of Maputo is already enabling growth in economic sectors by providing access to global markets and increasing trade for the local economy and its people. Now, 50,000 FEUs (Forty Foot Equivalent Units) of citrus fruits are shipped over a six-month season, making southern Africa the world’s second-largest citrus exporter.