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ZIMBABWE’S oil seed crushers are facing serious oil seed shortages as local stocks have been exhausted, Zimbabwe Oil Expressers Association secretary Mr Busisa Moyo has said. Compounding the problem is the fact that oil companies are being given 90 day permits, which allow them to import lower tonnage, not sufficient to utilise their capacities.
Zimbabwe has four main oil expressers, with crushing capacity of 24 000 tonnes per month.
“We have exhausted the local cotton seed and soya beans and we should fill that gap with imports,” said Mr Moyo, who is also United Refineries Limited chief executive.
“But the issue of permits is a serious problem. It takes about six weeks to obtain the three-month permit from the authorities and the tonnage is too low; about 2 000 tonnes per month. At the crush rate of 200 tonnes per day, the stock will last for only 10 days.”
The Ministries of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation and Industry and Commerce, the Agriculture Marketing Authority and Biosafety Board of Zimbabwe are responsible for issuing the permits.
Oil expressers are importing seed from Zambia and Malawi.
Mr Moyo said in light of the limitations on the maximum oil seed tonnage the companies are allowed to import, the firms are importing crude soya bean for refining.
Local cotton seed and soya beans stocks normally run dry between November and April when harvesting starts.
Mr Moyo appealed to the authorities to issue permits which cover the period of the seasonal shortage “with reasonable tonnage”.
He said local oil expressers were failing to secure firm contracts from commodity companies.
Online Reporter