Here’s the latest in ESM’s regular series, Notes From Africa, which brings you the latest retail, consumer goods, and food-and-beverage stories from across the African continent. Past editions can be found here.
Nigeria: Norsworthy Farms & Agro Allied To Expand Palm Plantation
In Nigeria, the agro-industrial group Norsworthy Farms & Agro Allied plans to acquire 600 hectares of land to expand its industrial oil palm plantation, located in Delta State. This transaction, once finalised, will bring the company's total area dedicated to oil palm cultivation to 2,000 hectares. In Nigeria, the local industry covers about 75% of the consumption needs of palm oil, which is around 1.9 million tonnes according to data from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Rwanda: Government To Ramp-Up Cassava Processing Plant
In Rwanda, the government plans to spend about $1.8 million to finance the upgrading of the Kinazi Cassava Plant Limited (KCP), located in the the Southern Province. The fund will be used mainly to replace old machinery with new modern equipment, in order to increase the performance of the plant, which is currently operating at 33% of its production capacity. The factory, which currently processes a maximum of 40 tonnes of cassava per day, will be able to process up to 120 tonnes of the tuber at its full potential. The move should enable the company to significantly increase its supply of high-quality cassava flour, to meet the growing needs of the domestic and regional markets.
Ghana: Orange Processing Plant Announced For Central Region
In Ghana, a new orange juice production unit is set to be unveiled in the next few months in the Central Region. The plant, Central Citrus Processing Limited, will have a processing capacity of 15 tonnes of oranges per hour, and will be built with the financial support of the Ghana Agricultural Development Bank (ADB). According to the authorities, the plant will be supplied by local producers, who cultivate nearly 2,400 hectares of the fruit in the region. Ghana produces nearly 600,000 tonnes of oranges each year.
Nigeria: AFEX Launches Grain Processing Unit In Kaduna
AFEX Commodities Exchange (AFEX), Nigeria's first private exchange for agricultural commodities, has commissioned a grain processing unit in Kaduna State. The facility has a processing capacity of 100,000 tonnes of different grasses, including corn and sorghum, but can also process soybeans.The plant, which will be supplied with raw materials by producers in the region, also has storage space for 30,000 tonnes of agricultural commodities. Launched in 2014, AFEX operates some 60 storage facilities in 15 states across the country.
Côte d'Ivoire: Government Launches $100 million Cocoa Processing Plant
In Côte d'Ivoire, Prime Minister Patrick Achi has announced the construction of a cocoa processing unit in the town of San Pedro, in the southwest of the country. Spread over a nine-hectare site, the factory will cost a total of 73 billion CFA francs ($108 million) and will be developed by the Ivorian financial and industrial group Atlantic Group SA. The facility, which should be completed within 24 months, will have a processing capacity of 64,000 tonnes of beans per year, expandable to 100,000 tonnes. Once operational, it will perform various operations, including cleaning, drying, grinding, roasting and pressing of cocoa liquor. The plant will generate about 1,700 direct and indirect jobs.
Nigeria : Vendease Raises $30 million In Funding
Nigeria's restaurant-serving platform Vendease has raised $30 million to solidify its growth and operations in Nigeria and Ghana, and to support its expansion across the continent. The digital platform enables restaurants and foodservice operators in Africa to purchase supplies, access financial services and power their business operations. According to Vendease, over the past 12 months more than 400,000 tonnes of food have been purchased through its platform.
© 2022 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest A-brand news. Article by Espoir Olodo. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
