by John Stevens
September 3, 2010 4:44 PM
Windhoek, Namibia (in southwest Africa, north and west of South Africa), has become the first town in the country to offer cold storage, a capability which is critical to commercial shipping of refrigerated, perishable foods in a hot desert country, and to the food industry. The new facility, Prosperita Commercial Cold Storage, will open early in November. Prosperita can hold 4500 tons of frozen food, and its temperature and hygiene levels conform to European Union guidelines for cold storage.
Namibia lies in southwestern Africa. Its geography consists mostly of high plateaus, with the Namib Desert along the coast and the Kalahari in the east. Almost none of its land is arable. But Windhoek is in central Namibia, between the two deserts, and Namibia’s government has committed itself to bringing frozen vegetables, meat, poultry, and fish into Namibian grocery stores. Prosperita is located where Namibia’s main roads to each side of the country connect to each other, placing it in the ideal spot for shipping frozen food to the coast, for instance. Foods can also be shipped via airplane on Air Namibia, which offers cold, refrigerated storage on its cargo planes.
In addition, Namibia hopes to be able to ship its few agricultural products, which include millet, sorghum, peanuts, and grapes, to other countries, particularly to countries in Europe. Prosperita’s foods will be wrapped and labeled with bar codes, ready for sale in grocery stores, and ready to be tracked during shipping.
Namibia’s President, Hifikepunye Pohamba, stressed the need for cold storage facilities, and for a strong marketing and distribution network, when he addressed the annual Ongwediva Trade Fair this week. At the fair, President Pohamba announced that Prosperita, which has 1600 square meters of floor space, would be opening the first week of November.
The facility cost $32 million Namibian dollars to build. All together, the distribution network, packaging facilities, and cold storage will cost about $100 million Namibian dollars.
Sources used:
Air Namibia. “Cargo.”
Bradshaw, Steve. “Namibia’s first female trawler captain.” BBC News. Aug. 6, 2010.
Heita, Desie. “Namibia: first cold storage facility opens.” AllAfrica.com. Sept. 2, 2010.
“Namibia.” CIA World Factbook.
Tags: windhoek, namibia, southwest africa, cold storage, commercial shipping, refrigerated storage, perishable food, frozen food, food industry, prosperita commercial cold storage, european union, european union guidelines, southwestern africa, namib desert, kalahari desert, grocery stores, transportation network, marketing network, distribution network, air namibia, millet, sorghum, peanuts, grapes, president, hifikepunye pohamba, ongwediva trade fair,
Storage