“ The secret is in the strategic location ”
The company Silos e Terminal Graneleiro da Matola (STEMA) leads the cereal and leguminous cargo handling service, with emphasis on storage, shipping and bagging. Despite being one of the oldest players in cereal logistics, it remains the most efficient and the secret is not only related to technological conditions, but mainly to its strategic location, as stated by the Chairman of the Board of Directors (PCA) of the company , Arlindo Chilundo in an interview with Profile.
The country has several silo complexes that operate cereal logistics. In these, where does STEMA stand out?
We have been preferred due to our capacity and strategic location that allows all operations to be carried out in bulk. See that we have a 55-meter pier with the capacity to receive ships weighing up to around 40 thousand tons. For cargo transported by rail, we have a branch line of around a thousand meters in double direction with a locomotive with a capacity of 350 tons, which can accommodate up to 40 wagons at once.
How does this advantage translate to your customers?
Our location allows goods to reach international destinations less expensively, both due to distance and the interconnected chain between road, sea and rail transport.
How are connections made with countries in the region?
We have advantageous connections with the main markets in the region, see that by rail, the distance to Johannesburg, in South Africa, is 585 km by road and by rail it is 440. To the city of Belfast in the South African province of Mpumalanga it is 317 km by road and 339 by rail, Mbombela (Nelspruit) is 246 km by road and 201 km by rail, Komatipoort is 119 km by road and 93 by rail. The connection with Zimbabwe, to Bulawayo is 1109 km by road and 1083 by rail, Gabarone in Botswana is about 937 km by road and 1047 km by line, to Matsapha in Eswatini it is 260 km by road and 219 km by rail .
So is the location of silo complexes the main challenge in cereal logistics?
The biggest challenge is the construction of functional silos, but this aspect depends on the installation of these infrastructures in a strategic location, which integrates efficient cargo transport systems for this purpose, because it is not enough to just build silos, they need to be where there are good roads, railways or port, so that it is possible to transport cereals in bulk.
What is the advantage of bulk shipping?
In fact, throughout the world cereal logistics is carried out in bulk, this allows large quantities of products to be moved and makes handling easier, in addition to being a less expensive process.
There is little efficiency observed in the silo complexes installed in some provinces in the Center and North of the country, what is this due to?
One of the problems we identified when visiting some of these enterprises is their location, in Lichinga in the province of Niassa, the silo complex is close to the Airport, but they should be connected to the railway to facilitate the transport of goods. From a strategic point of view, that doesn’t make sense.
What would be the best order?
Those silos should allow the investor to bring the goods in trucks and later transport them by train to other destinations, including the port of Nacala, in the neighboring province of Nampula. The lack of these conditions means that cereal logistics in these areas is carried out using bagging, which logically deters investors.
What should be done?
In my opinion, planning for the installation of silo complexes must be rethought, we need to review where we want to install the silos and for what purpose we want them. It is clear that the aim is to conserve the products, but this must include their flow, which, in fact, requires integrated infrastructure. If it is far from the railway line, it must at least be close to a good road.
How is STEMA’s business currently?
We continue to record a good rate of growth, despite the fact that we currently have a competitor who holds 40% of the business at the port of Maputo. This new company began operating in 2018, at a time when the company was still recovering from a fire, which occurred in 2015, which affected our pier.
What does this growth translate into?
We currently have around 60% of the business in the South region and we continue to be preferred due to our technological advantage. Despite the Russian-Ukrainian war that destabilized the international cereal market, between 2021 and 2022 we recorded an increase in cargo handled by more than 90 thousand tons.
What are the prospects for this year?
The growth of our business largely depends on increasing the production and consumption of cereals and legumes. There are encouraging signs of an economic recovery, albeit timid. Furthermore, the Single Salary Table (TSU), recently approved by the Government, could stimulate consumption, through the injection of purchasing power to families. The start of natural gas exports is also a positive indicator for the Mozambican economy.
