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Herald Reporter
A Bindura-based firm has said it is ready to provide enough fertiliser for the Presidential Input Support Scheme and other related needs during the forthcoming summer cropping season. Superfert Fertiliser managing director Mr Steve Morland said they had already submitted their offers and mobilised resources in preparation for the production of fertiliser for the Presidential Input Support Scheme .
He was addressing members of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Lands, Agriculture and Rural Resettlement in Bindura last week.
The committee is chaired by Gokwe-Nembudziya legislator Cde Justice Mayor Wadyajena.
“Last year we got 45 000 tonnes of Compound D and 45 000 of Ammonium Nitrate and that was delivered before the end of December last year,” said Mr Morland.
“This year we have now submitted some offers and we are waiting for feedback and we believe the programme will be big again.”
Mr Morland said part of their payments were through Treasury Bills, which would enable them to borrow money from financial institutions.
He said it was easy for them to mobilise resources since they were part of a corporate group that traded agricultural commodities in Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia.
“We are part of a larger group in Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe, and within our group, we have credit lines to bring raw materials into countries. So, a lot of raw materials you saw today was because of the lines of credit,” said Mr Morland.
“When we get an order from Government, we come up with a funding solution.
“We get a letter of support from Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe so that we are able to get letters of credit on a 180-day basis.
“In other words, for 180 days, there is nostro account that is already there funded through our group.
“The biggest advantage is that when we get an order, we do not ask for money upfront, we make our own plan.”
Mr Morland said his firm had not been getting foreign currency from the central bank like what other fertiliser-producing firms.
He said his firm was operating at 50 percent capacity utilisation owing to suppressed demand but was expecting a surge as the country approaches the summer cropping season when demand for fertiliser rises.
“At the moment we are not running at full capacity, but if we get orders from Government as we got last year, we will run at full capacity.
“At the moment we are only doing it for retails,” said Mr Morland.
He implored the Government to come up with mechanism that ensures firms get cheap foreign currency.
“Our prices are very market related,” he said.
“The only thing that makes Zimbabwe more expensive is the cost of money and the availability of foreign currency.”
Online Reporter