Angola Cold Chain Industry

Overview

Subsistence agriculture provides the main livelihood for most of Angola’s population (32 million), but more than half of the country’s food is still imported.  Angola holds tremendous agriculture potential with fertile soils, abundant water, and a favorable climate. The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MINAGRIF) estimates that Angola has almost 58 million hectares available for agricultural development, including 35 million hectares of arable land.  Of the arable land, approximately 15 percent is currently cultivated, and 20 percent is suitable for irrigation.  After almost 27 years of civil war, aggressive international landmine clearing efforts have opened extensive areas of land for agricultural development; the United States has invested more than $134 million in landmine clearance programs in Angola since 2000. Livestock also holds strong potential in Angola, with a vast natural habitat for grazing and water resources throughout the country. 

During the Portuguese colonial era, which ended in 1975, Angola was a major producer and exporter of cotton, coffee, corn, banana, tobacco, sugar cane, and sisal.   Currently, Angola’s main agricultural crops include cassava, corn, beans, potatoes, sweet potatoes, soy, bananas, coffee, rice, vegetables, and fruits.  Domestic agricultural production capacity does not meet local demand.  The most fertile regions are in the highlands and valleys. The rainy season is from October to May, which is considered the prime season for vegetable cultivation.  Tomatoes are grown during the dry season (June to September). Greenhouses and irrigation, which expand the growing seasons are not widely used in Angola.

Poultry production has increased slightly and inconsistently over the last 5 years but was affected by a an insufficient supply of feed and chemicals as well as long periods of drought in some Angolan provinces.  Most chicken products in the market are currently imported (US, Brazil, etc.) to meet demand. Angola’s livestock farming is located primarily in the southern part of the country and is based on natural pasture grazing.  Beef is the second largest agricultural product after cassava. Other livestock, such as goats, pigs and chicken are raised mainly by small-scale farmers as subsistence food sources.   According to the Cooperative of Cattle Producers of Southern Angola (CGSA), an industry association based in Lubango, Huila Province, Angola has a cattle population of approximately 3.5 million heads.

Despite some public initiatives, post-harvest loss is still a big challenge in Angola due to rotting, mechanical damage, poor handling, improper management, and hygiene problems. With an increasing local production capacity, Angola aims via public and private projects to improve the cold storage infrastructure to deter the worsening trend of post-harvest considering that reducing post-harvest losses is vital for food and nutrition security. FAO estimates sub-Saharan Africa food losses of about 20 percent for cereals, 40-50 percent for tubers, fruits and vegetables, 27 percent for oilseeds, meat and milk, and 33 percent for fish, that has an expenditure evaluated at US$4 billion per year - enough to feed at least 48 million people, equivalent to the population of Angola, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Namibia and Malawi all together.

In Angola, the major factor affecting post-harvest quality is storage as the crops are harvested and transported to the marketplace in non-refrigerated vehicles and stored in non-refrigerated stores. The lack of appropriate cold store infrastructure covering the whole chain from the farms to the marketplaces affects drastically the life of crops, seafood, poultry, livestock, dairy, vaccines, and medicines.

These challenges offer various opportunities to invest in different areas of the Angolan Cold Chain industry such as:
·    Cold storage warehouses suitable for large farms and small farmers 
·    Refrigerated trucks for transportation, especially from farms to marketplaces
·    Supply of spare parts for cold stores
·    Trainings

Demand for cold storage solutions is very high and urgent to improve the standard of living due to agriculture being the backbone of most economies. Cold chain infrastructure will lead to having more food in the market with several consequential benefits such as the product affordability, more employment opportunities and increase government revenue.

Webinar & Virtual Connections 
This report is part of a larger project titled “Cold Chain Solutions Virtual Connections.”  The project kicks off with a Webinar featuring Sub-Saharan Africa Commercial Specialists on Tuesday, September 27, 2022 from 11:00 am – Noon Eastern Time for a market overview Webinar, an opportunity to ask questions to market experts, and more information on how you can enter the Sub-Saharan Cold Chain market. Link: https://bit.ly/SSAcold-chain  

Following the webinar, companies offering U.S. cold chain solutions can connect with buying opportunities in Sub-Saharan Africa.  The Virtual Connection will provide additional curated matchmaking sessions to meet buyers and government officials in up to three of the markets presented.   Between 1–3 virtual introductions will be organized by local U.S. trade specialists who will guide you through the next steps so you can make the sale.  For details, contact Haley.Milan@trade.gov or Susan.Murray@trade.gov. 

For more details, please contact:
Lyronel Cafala,
Commercial Specialist
US Embassy, Luanda – Angola
(+244) 932-572-530
Manuel.Cafala@trade.gov