tawandamusarurwa
Business Reporter
ZIMBABWE is now producing 12 million litres of cooking oil per month, enough to meet local demand, according to Oil Expressers Association of Zimbabwe president Mr Busisa Moyo.
Output, however, still remains markedly lower than the sector’s installed capacity of 32 million litres per month, says the official.
Local edible oil producers are presently failing to use the available capacity due to a shortage of soya beans, which is the main raw material.
Zimbabwe requires 241 000 tonnes of soya beans annually.
However, farmers are optimistic of a significant harvest this year, after a 9 percent increase in the area under the crop in the 2022/2023 cropping season.
According to the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency, imports of crude and refined soya bean oil and fractions surged by 30 percent to US$290 million last year, from US$223 million in 2021.
Government recently declared the crop a controlled commodity, which means it can now only be sold to the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) or a licensed contractor.
The authorities have also banned soya bean exports from Zimbabwe.
Under new regulations, offenders face a fine three times the value side-marketed and a possible jail term of up to two years.
Farmers are not allowed to store or transport above 100 kilogrammes without permission from the GMB.
Mr Moyo said it was imperative for the country to boost production of oil seed to maximise the industry’s installed capacity and cut down on imports.
“Currently, we are not exporting but we are producing 12 million litres of cooking oil per month, sufficient to meet local demand.
“Our installed capacity is 32 million litres per month, and I think localisation of soya bean and other oil seed production is critical. We need to grow more oil seed from our agriculture sector to reduce raw material imports and enable the utilisation of excess capacity to produce for the export market,” he said.
The country is also intensifying the production of cotton and sunflower, which are used by the agro-processing industry to produce edible oil, crude and stockfeed.
According to Mr Moyo, the RBZ foreign currency auction market, which was introduced in June 2020, has been critical in supporting edible oil producers.
“The RBZ auction system has been very supportive in helping the producers access foreign currency for raw material procurement, and sometimes we get it through letters of credit as well,” he said.
Speaking at the 2022 Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries manufacturing sector survey report launch in Harare recently, RBZ Governor Dr John Mangudya said the forex auction remains pivotal in providing affordable and easily accessible foreign currency to the productive sector.
Since the launch of the RBZ auction platform, US$4 billion has been allotted.
“We also associate ourselves (monetary authorities) with your success because the auction system that we put in place in 2020 has been a game changer in distributing foreign currency to the manufacturing sector and the rest of the economy,” he said.
“What we have seen, 70 percent of the money that has been allocated from the auction — of the US$4 billion — most of it is going to raw materials and procurement of equipment,” he said.
Online Reporter