Mozambique’s Food Sector On The Rise

Supplying flour, pasta, biscuits, animal feed, and bread to domestic and regional markets.   

MEREC Industries has grown from a trading business into Mozambique’s largest food processor, supplying flour, pasta, biscuits, animal feed, and bread to domestic and regional markets. Chairman Mhamud Charania, a mechanical engineer trained at the University of Toronto, moved to Mozambique in 1995 and began importing rice, oil, and wheat flour. By 2000, he had built his first maize flour plant with a capacity of 100 tons per day, followed by a wheat flour plant of 140 tons per day.  

“Today, after 27 years, we are producing about 2,300 tons of wheat flour per day and 268 tons of maize flour per day,” he says. “We also want to grow our presence in the maize industry through support to local growers.” 

Expansion into branded consumer products began in 2010 with pasta and biscuits, followed in 2013 by animal feed and in 2018 by Mozambique’s first industrial bakery with capacity for 600,000 loaves per day. The company also introduced pasta to the Mozambican diet, conducting nationwide demonstrations to create consumer familiarity with a product that was not traditionally eaten. “We are the biggest pasta producers in the country,” says Charania. 

MEREC is the only miller operating in all three major ports— Maputo, Beira, and Nacala—giving it a logistical edge. It exports pasta to Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa, producing 15 tons per hour with plans to reach 30 tons within two years. The company runs Mozambique’s only loyalty program for wheat flour and animal feed, allowing customers to win airtime, electricity, and water credits instantly via an app or USSD.  

“Our strategy is to become a full FMCG company,” Charania says. “We want to build more and more brands that consumers identify with MEREC.” 

MEREC is positioning itself to capture the growth of Mozambique’s consumer market. With the population increasing by about one million people per year and urbanization driving demand for processed foods, the company sees a long-term opportunity. By investing in production capacity, brand development, and regional exports, MEREC is consolidating its role as a central player in Mozambique’s fast-moving consumer goods sector. 

Av. Josina Machel, No.5716 Matola – Mozambique 

Phone: (+258) 2175 0103 

customerservice@merec.co.mz 

www.merecindustries.com