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Lobel’s managing director Mr Ngoni Mazango said the closure of the flour division had deprived bakeries in the region of easy access to the product as some did not have adequate resources to import.
“Bulawayo as a whole has been disadvantaged. It would have been much better if we had a big flour mill in the region,” he said.
Mr Mazango said the availability of a big flour milling plant was an advantage to some bakeries as it helped reduce transport costs.
However, he said his company relied mainly on imported flour owing to the expensiveness of locally produced flour.
“The quality of local flour is not as good as that we are importing,” said Mr Mazango.
The managing director of a new bakery in the city, Double Fresh Bakery, Mr Mnothisi Nsingo, said the suspension of flour milling operations in Bulawayo was a challenge to some bakeries in the city.
“Obviously, we are going to face challenges in Bulawayo because not all bakeries are importing. We are happy that the Government has created a conducive environment for the baking industry because more flour is coming into the country. This would create competition within the industry,” he said.
Despite the closure of National Foods flour division in Bulawayo, there are no signs of bread shortages as the product is readily available on the market.
National Foods is one of the largest manufacturers and marketers of food products in Zimbabwe and the Southern African region.
The company’s mills process wheat to produce flour used in the baking and confectionery industry as well as mealie meal.
National Foods announced that it was placing its Bulawayo flour mill under care and maintenance from next month.
It said would evaluate the reopening of the flour milling plant in the future as the market developed and once the availability of locally produced wheat increased.
Online Reporter