Mozambique Chamber of Commerce and China's Long Ran sign cassava deal, first target one million boxes

Mozambique is preparing to open a cassava export channel to China under a memorandum of understanding signed on Thursday, 1 October, in Maputo between the Mozambique Chamber of Commerce and the Chinese group Long Ran. According to MZNews, the document provides for the mobilisation of producers, the development of the cassava value chain and the creation of conditions for processing and commercialising the crop.

Diário Económico reported that domestic farmers are preparing to increase both production and processing of cassava in view of the opening of a new market. Neither publication reported current Mozambican cassava output or a value for the planned trade.

One million boxes as the opening target

The representative of the Chinese group, Jasmim, said the initial goal is to reach exports of one million boxes of cassava, without specifying the period. She argued that the crop is an opportunity beyond food consumption, with uses in industry and in animal feed. “I want Mozambican-origin cassava to be the dough of the whole world,” she said, in remarks carried by MZNews citing a report by the news agency AIM.

The reports did not specify the product form intended for shipment — fresh root, dried chips, flour or starch — nor the weight of a box. No price, contract value or processing investment figure was disclosed.

Varieties and a focus on Gaza province

Long Ran said it has identified cassava varieties in Mozambique with characteristics favourable to large-scale production, and that it intends to make available to Mozambican producers the knowledge and technologies accumulated through its family's experience in the agricultural sector. The group found potential for an export-oriented chain in Gaza province, in the south of the country, and in other regions.

What it means for smallholders

Lucas Chachine, president of the Mozambique Chamber of Commerce, said the existence of a market for cassava could encourage small producers to expand planted area, since they would be growing the crop not only for their own consumption but also to generate income. “Producers will know that the limit is not only direct consumption — they now have a market where they can create income,” he said.

Investment, technology transfer and import substitution

The initiative also provides for linking investors to producers and creating conditions to facilitate investment, promote the transfer of knowledge and technology and stimulate local production, in line with efforts to reduce imports and support micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.

• Parties: Mozambique Chamber of Commerce and the Chinese group Long Ran
• Signed: Thursday, 1 October, in Maputo
• Initial export target: one million boxes of cassava, timeframe not stated
• Geographic focus: Gaza province and other regions of Mozambique
• Stated end uses: food, industrial raw material, animal feed

Both sides framed cassava as a crop currently grown mainly for self-consumption, which makes aggregation the central operational question: export and industrial buyers need consistent, graded volumes rather than scattered surpluses. The memorandum sets out intent rather than binding tonnage, and its test will be whether processing capacity is built inside Mozambique and whether producer mobilisation in Gaza and other provinces delivers supply at export scale.