adminNgoni Dapira Business Correspondent
THE recently reopened Zimbabwe Stock Exchange listed milling firm, National Foods Limited Mutare mill is targeting to up its capacity utilisation by 50 percent by end of this month. National Foods milling division managing executive, Mr Chipo Nheta, told Post Business that the Mutare mill would service Manicaland and Masvingo markets.
The Mutare maize mill, which opened towards the end of last month (January), had been inactive since 2014 and generally intermittent in its operations since dollarisation in 2009.
Mr Nheta said the company was delighted to bring back into service the mill, adding that it would help meet the demand for Red Seal Roller-meal and Red Seal Pearlenta as well as create employment.
The mill is currently producing 1 500 tonnes a week, but Mr Nheta said they were targeting a 50 percent increase in capacity utilisation by end of February.
“We employed labour with milling experience to speedily get production running.
“90 employees were recruited and are operating in two full-time shifts,” said Mr Nheta.
He added that they would soon switch to automated mills if market demand continued to boost production volumes.
Mr Nheta said the Mutare plant would complement operations at the Harare and Bulawayo plants to ensure nationwide availability of Red Seal Roller-meal and Pearlenta super refined maize-meal.
He, however, appealed to Government to act on border leakages which were fuelling smuggling of maize-meal from Mozambique, South Africa and Botswana.
Mr Nheta added that the current prize of $365 per tonne that they were importing maize from Zambia, coupled with high utility costs was increasing production costs which affected competitive pricing of their products compared to imported regional maize meal prices.
He added that while the deficit in locally grown maize and soya beans remains, the company was compelled to remain operational and import raw materials at competitive rates which would not affect their margins in periods of commodity pricing volatility.
“We appreciate the recent measures by Government to reduce the import of cheap maize meal into the country, which has boosted our capacity utilisation at both the Harare and Bulawayo mills.
“We are also hoping to reopen the Masvingo mill if the market demand keeps on improving,” he said.
On another note, Mr Nheta said the conflict which saw over 100 Mutare youths staging a peaceful protest over flouting of recruitment procedures for the milling division vacancies last month was eventually amicably resolved.
Over 100 youths stormed the Mutare depot and demanded fairness in employment at the company after discovering that over 70 of the 90 recruited mill employees were from Harare.
The matter was, however, amicably and timely resolved following the intervention of Dangamvura–Chikanga legislator, Cde Isau Mupfumi and the Minister of State for Manicaland Provincial Affairs, Cde Mandi Chimene.
Natfoods is one of the country’s largest manufacturers and marketers of food products, with a footprint spanning pre-packing and sale of dry groceries to the manufacturing of stock feeds and food products.
The company operates in segments that include milling, manufacturing, distribution and property.
Online Reporter