adminNgoni Dapira Business Correspondent
COMPANIES should first guarantee they can supply the country’s market and satisfy consumers with quality goods of international certification standards before the Government introduces protectionist measures to support specific sectors, a cabinet minister said this week.
Commissioning a state-of-the-art automated new-line baked beans plant at agro-food processing firm Cairns Foods on Wednesday, the Minister of Industry and Commerce, Cde Mike Bimha said, Government could not close borders when there was a no guarantee against shortages due to limited supply.
“To Cairns, we are saying if your products are of quality standards and can satisfy the market, Government will help you on your plea to protect you from imports,” he said.
During the tour of the production plant, Cairns Holdings chief executive officer, Ms Nancy Guzha had bemoaned the effects of the cheap imports that were finding their way on the market at uncompetitive prices.
After re-branding its Cashel Valley baked beans, Cairns Foods has since slashed down the price to 75 cents, but Ms Guzha said traders that smuggled the imported baked beans were still choking their new competitive market rates.
The minister applauded Cairns Holdings on its recovery plans from judicial management. He said industrialization was the only way the economy and the African continent would significantly develop.
The new plant, which is valued at $257 000 is expected to improve production capacity five-fold by year end. It will also improve its Cashel Valley baked beans production to 264 00 cases per month from a production capacity of 60 000 cases per month with the old machinery.
Minister Bimha said technological advancement and adaptation of modern cost cutting measures was the best way to improve competitiveness and steer the country’s industrialisation drive under the economic turnaround blueprint Zimbabwe Agenda for Socio-Economic Transformation.
“As you know Zimbabwe is part of the industrialisation strategy and roadmap crafted last year and adopted by SADC, COMESA and Africa Union.
“So as Government we are encouraging the manufacturing sector to drive industrialisation, which really is the only way we can grow our economy and the African continent. We will continue to call on companies to re-tool, resuscitate and expand so that we re-industrialise Zimbabwe,” said the minister.
Cairns Foods operations manager, Mr Joseph Mavhu said since coming of judicial management last year in November, the company despite having the capacity to produce 300 000 cases per month, was still producing 50 000 cases due to low market uptake.
“We have played our part as Cairns to improve capacity utilisation but we are now coming back to you Government for assistance to grow. Our out-grower programme and recovery programmes are creating employment and reviving upstream and downstream industry.
This cannot be done when we import and export jobs out of the country. Buy Zimbabwe is real and it is high time as Zimbabweans we realise this as we speak the economic turnaround gospel and cry for jobs,” said Mr Mavhu.
Cairns Foods is now employing 150 employees, both contract and part-time, from 50 when it went under judicial management in 2012.
From a low capacity utilisation of seven percent in 2012, the agro-processing firm is now operating at 15 percent targeting capacity utilisation of 80 percent by year end.
Online Reporter