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Walter Muchinguri in Kwekwe
Kwekwe dairy company Dendairy is targeting a turnover of $32 million this year up from the $24 million it reported last year. Company director Daryl Archibald told a delegation of ambassadors, embassy officials and officials from lending agencies touring companies in Kwekwe, Gweru and Bulawayo that milk production had been growing 30 percent year on year.
He said that the growth had partly been aided by Government’s decision to allow local companies to be the sole importers of milk products in the country.
“We are grateful to the Government for this because contrary to beliefs that this was going to result in an increase in prices of milk it has actually seen a reduction in prices of local milk to below the prices of imported milk,” he said.
Mr Archibald said that there was need to ensure that the policy remains beneficial by putting in place measures to curtail rand to dollar recycling where locals that have rands are buying products in South Africa and selling these in Zimbabwe at cheap prices so that they can get United States dollars.
He also called for Government to protect local industries that are still recovering.
“Yes we need to libralise our markets but not until our companies have recovered,” he said.
Industry and Commerce Deputy Minister Chiratidzo Mabuwa said Government was prepared to assist local companies to grow but it was incumbent on the companies to organise themselves.
“Companies need to come together and present their concerns in the same way that the dairy industry has done,” she said.
She said there was a lot scope for SMEs to supply local industries with some inputs.
“There are things that are required by our local industries that they are importing but these things are not necessarily produced by large companies but cottage industries and we need your assistance to ensure that our SMEs acquire such technology so that they can produce those things locally.
The tour, which is being organised by the Office of the President and Cabinet, is focusing on dairy, textile, leather and other manufacturing industries.
It is the second tour that has been organised by the OPC to give foreign missions operating in the country an appreciation of the success stories of Zim-Asset.
Online Reporter