Buyer guide · Mozambique
Mozambique cold-chain RFQ guide: requirements by facility type
A Mozambican cold-chain RFQ gets comparable quotes only when it fixes peak volumes, product temperatures, site ambient and humidity, backup-power autonomy and the export market before suppliers price. Fish projects must state ice output at local conditions; fruit packhouses must state harvest-peak cooling; poultry plants must split fresh and frozen volumes. This guide lists what to specify for each facility type and which institutions to confirm with.
Reviewed 24 October 2026 against the sources listed below. Requirements are buyer specification points, not legal advice.
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ColdMatch organises the RFQ and contacts suitable suppliers on the buyer's behalf; it does not design, build, certify or operate facilities. Managed sourcing serves projects from USD 250,000. Compliance with Mozambican and destination-market rules remains with the project owner and its suppliers.
What to specify by facility type
Use the row that matches your project; mixed sites combine several rows.
| Facility type | Typical scope | What your RFQ must state | Mozambique-specific check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fish cold store and ice plant (port or landing site) | Chill room for fresh fish under ice, blast or plate freezer, frozen store, flake or block ice machine, ice store | Daily landings and peak, species, fresh/frozen split, ice tonnes per day needed, water source and quality | INIP inspection; EU listing if exporting to the EU; ice output guaranteed at local ambient and water temperature |
| Fruit packhouse: pre-cooling and cold store (avocado, lychee) | Receiving area, forced-air or room pre-cooling, cold rooms at product set points, dispatch to reefers | Tonnes per day at harvest peak, cultivar, target pulp temperature and humidity, cooling-time target, packing-line interface | Annual registration with the plant protection organisation where a protocol requires it, e.g. avocado to South Africa |
| Poultry chilling, blast freezing and frozen store | Carcass chilling, cutting room, blast freezer, frozen store, loading dock | Birds per hour or tonnes per day, fresh/frozen share, chilled and frozen targets, frozen-store pallet positions | Confirm current meat-hygiene and import rules with the authorities; biosecurity zoning on site |
| Egg cool room and distribution store | Controlled-temperature room, packing area, dispatch | Dozens per day, the temperature rule of your market, condensation control at dispatch | No Mozambique-specific table-egg temperature rule was verified; state your market's rule |
| Refrigerated distribution hub (Maputo–Matola, Beira, Nacala) | Multi-temperature rooms, cross-dock, sealed docks, monitoring | Pallet positions per temperature zone, turnover, dock count, peak inbound | Port and corridor interface, backup autonomy, flood and wind design |
| Reefer transport interface | Refrigerated truck bodies, reefer container plugs, pre-trip checks, data loggers | Routes and transit times, set points per product, loading temperatures, logger data format | Confirm terminal plug availability for your season (e.g. the Beira reefer yard reported in 2024) |
Temperature references by product are on the companion page. Where a Mozambican rule was not verified we say so instead of filling the gap.
New build, expansion or retrofit
State which one you need. A new fish cold store at a landing site, an extra pre-cooling tunnel in an existing packhouse and a compressor retrofit are priced very differently, and suppliers cannot compare offers if the boundary is unclear. Attach drawings or photos of existing rooms, and list what stays (panels, racking, electrical supply) and what must be replaced.
Power, outages and cyclone exposure
The IEA (October 2025) notes that cyclones routinely damage electricity infrastructure in Mozambique, and a 2025 WorldFish case recorded power cuts of more than 12 hours at one fish market. Specify how many hours product must hold temperature without grid power, whether the generator must carry full refrigeration load, and how alarms reach your staff.
- Hold-over hours per room and the maximum allowed temperature rise
- Generator or battery sizing basis and fuel autonomy
- Wind, flood and corrosion criteria for coastal installations
Ice plants: specify output at your conditions
WorldFish (March 2025) measured about 450 kg of ice a day on three shifts from a machine rated at 1,000 kg a day. Ask every supplier for guaranteed output at your design ambient and water inlet temperature, the maintenance regime behind that figure and the local technician who will keep it running.
Fruit packhouses: cover the harvest peak
Avocado and lychee arrive in short harvest windows. Size pre-cooling on the peak tonnes per day and the cooling time you need, not the season average. Where a protocol requires it — such as South Africa's avocado protocol, which requires packhouses and storage facilities registered annually by Mozambique's plant protection organisation — include registration in the programme.
Institutions to confirm with
Mozambique's foreign-trade portal lists INIP (fish inspection), the Autoridade Tributária customs directorate and INNOQ (standards); the Departamento de Sanidade Vegetal issues phytosanitary licences and certificates. Ask them for the requirements in force for your facility — ColdMatch does not provide legal or regulatory advice.
Comparing the quotes you receive
ColdMatch presents responses side by side on the same assumptions: capacity at design ambient, scope inclusions and exclusions, backup-power basis, service coverage and delivery terms. Contracts are signed between the buyer and the chosen supplier.
Mozambique RFQ checklist
Answer each item in your brief, or mark it unknown so suppliers price the same assumption. A free CSV version is linked below.
- Product mix and volumesSpecies or commodity, daily and peak tonnes, fresh/frozen split, harvest or fishing season.
- Temperatures and humidity by roomSet point, tolerance and humidity for each room, plus pull-down time for warm product.
- Site design conditionsDesign ambient and humidity for the actual site, coastal or inland, altitude.
- Power and resilienceGrid connection, outage history, generator or battery autonomy in hours, automatic transfer.
- Ice requirementTonnes per day, flake or block, guaranteed at local ambient and water temperature; water treatment.
- Hygiene and inspection routeINIP for fish, plant health registration for fruit packhouses, buyer audits; who prepares the file.
- Export marketEU, South Africa, regional or domestic, and the temperature records that market expects.
- Envelope and corrosionPanel thickness, floor heating for frozen rooms, coastal corrosion protection, wind and flood design.
- Refrigerant and serviceRefrigerant choice, in-country service coverage, spare parts and response time.
- MonitoringContinuous logging, alarm escalation, data export for claims and audits.
- Scope split and logisticsCivils, electrical, installation, commissioning; port of entry, Incoterm and inland haulage.
- Timeline and budgetTarget operating date and budget band; managed sourcing applies from USD 250,000.
From brief to organised supplier responses
- Complete the checklist, or download the CSV and share it internally.
- Submit one RFQ to ColdMatch with Mozambique selected as the project country.
- The ColdMatch team reviews gaps with you before any supplier is contacted.
- The team approaches suitable suppliers on your behalf and collects comparable responses.
- You review the organised responses and decide; no contact details are exchanged until you proceed.
Related ColdMatch resources
Frequently asked questions
What must a Mozambique cold store RFQ include?
Peak volumes, product temperatures and humidity, site design ambient, backup-power autonomy, export market, envelope and corrosion requirements, refrigerant and service coverage, scope split, port of entry and timeline. Mark unknowns so every supplier prices the same assumption.
How should I specify an ice plant for a fishing project?
State tonnes per day and ice type, and require output guaranteed at your site's ambient and water temperature. A 2025 WorldFish case found a machine making about 450 kg a day against a 1,000 kg rating, so datasheet capacity alone is not enough.
Do Mozambican fruit packhouses need registration?
Where an import protocol requires it, yes. South Africa's avocado protocol requires production sites, packhouses and storage facilities approved and registered annually by Mozambique's plant protection organisation. Confirm the current rules for your destination with the Departamento de Sanidade Vegetal.
Which temperature rule applies to table eggs in Mozambique?
We did not verify a Mozambique-specific table-egg temperature rule. State the rule of the market you supply, for example the US or EU references summarised in our egg guide, and design the room to avoid condensation at dispatch.
Does ColdMatch put me in direct contact with suppliers?
No. The ColdMatch team reviews your RFQ, contacts suitable suppliers on your behalf and presents organised responses. Contact details are exchanged only when you decide to proceed with a supplier.
Is there a minimum project size?
Managed sourcing serves commercial projects from USD 250,000 and is free for buyers. Smaller requests receive the free planning tools and guides.