Pretty Manyewe
Zimbabwe has started the journey to reduce its reliance on imported crude edible oil, President Mnangagwa has said.
He made these remarks at the Mount Meru Moller Edible Oil Refinery Plant commissioning in Mahusekwa, Mashonaland East on Wednesday.
The USD$20 million plant is a subsidiary of the Multinational Corporation, Mount Meru Group and manufactures the Sun Soya Cooking Oil.
The company employs locals and buys soya beans from local farmers.
President Mnangagwa said the plant and other similar investments are likely to reduce Zimbabwe`s crude edible oil imports.
“The new processing plant, which has a capacity to produce 250 metric tons of soya edible oil per day, will undoubtedly help increase the supply of oil on the local market. It’s also set to augment the Local Content Policy and the ongoing campaign under the “Made in Zimbabwe, Buy Zimbabwe and Build Zimbabwe initiative. This should in turn see a decrease in our reliance on imported crude oil to boost our national requirements,” said President Mnangagwa.
President Mnangagwa expects that the increase in processing capacity in the edible oils sector will nurture a healthy supply chain and guarantee availability of products at fairly priced competitive rates for the benefit of consumers.
“I am optimistic that the raw material requirements of this processing plant will enhance economic participation of our communities not only here in Mashonaland East Province but the country as a whole. To this end, I call upon edible oil value chain players to support the production of soya bean, cotton and sunflower by contracting local farmers towards guaranteeing a consistent availability of raw material,” said President Mnangagwa.
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