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.
Egypt: Malaysia To Invest $30 Million In Palm Oil
The government of Egypt is currently in talks with a Malaysian company to execute a $30 million palm oil production and marketing project. The initiative involves investing $10 million in constructing a warehouse for the storage and packaging of Malaysian-originated palm oil, and a $20 million refinery building in the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZONE), located in the northeast of the country.
The project comes as the country, which is the first African importer of palm oil, aims to increase local cooking oil supply and decrease its dependence on imports.
Nigeria: FMN Gets $1.2 Million To Increase Local Supply
In Nigeria, the West Africa Trade & Investment Hub (Trade Hub) has awarded a grant of 563 million naira ($1.2 million) to agricultural input supplier Golden Agri Inputs Limited (GAIL), a subsidiary of agribusiness conglomerate Flour Mills of Nigeria (FMN). The support is part of the implementation of a local agricultural raw material supply program that will see GAIL invest a total of 3 billion naira ($6.7 million).
The project will engage 10,000 smallholder farmers to produce 22,500 tonnes of maize and 12,500 tonnes of soybeans on a combined area of 10,000 hectares. The initiative is expected to create 151 new jobs and improve the incomes of nearly 70,000 people operating within the various value chains of the two targeted crops, according to the press release.
Rwanda: Wine-Producing Facility To Be Built
Private investors in Rwanda are planning to construct a new wine-producing facility in the industrial zone of Huye district. The new unit will manufacture red wine and soft drinks from high-quality grapes. The grape processing factory, which costs just over Rwf1.2 billion ($1.1 million), will also process bottled mineral water and other soft drinks.
Mozambique: Cashew Processing Plant To Be Established
The government of Gaza Province in Mozambique plans to establish a new cashew processing unit by July 2023 at a site located in the Mandlakazi district. The plant is expected to generate 64 new jobs and will cost a total of $1 million. It will be provided in nuts by a plantation of 600 hectares of cashew trees, as well as by producers in neighbouring districts.
Nigeria: Ellah Lakes Joins IITA To Develop High-Yielding Soybean Seeds
In Nigeria, agribusiness company Adani SCPZ, a subsidiary of Ellah Lakes Plc, has partnered with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) to develop improved soybean seeds with high potential. The new variety is expected to yield 2.5 tonnes per hectare, more than double the national average of around one ton, enabling Nigeria to reach a level of productivity equivalent to that of Brazil and Argentina.
The seeds will first be planted on five hectares of land based in Ibadan, Oyo State, as an experiment on an estate owned by IITA. Then, the new planting material will be multiplied on a large scale on 500 hectares in the Adani SCPZ farm covering a total area of 3,700 hectares in Enugu State. This move is part of a strategy to enable Ellah Lakes Plc to increase its supply to the growing Nigerian soybean market, which is estimated to be worth more than $780 million annually.
Côte d'Ivoire: Cocoa Warehouse and Processing Complex To Be Launched
A cocoa storage and processing complex based in the industrial zone of Yopougon, Côte d'Ivoire, is scheduled to come into operation in the fourth quarter of 2023. According to officials, the infrastructure will include a storage warehouse capable of holding 140,000 tonnes of beans and a processing plant with a grinding capacity of 100,000 tonnes of beans.
Additionally, the complex will feature a training center that focuses on various trades practiced within the sector. This new investment aims to increase the local industry's installed grinding capacity to 1.1 million tonnes of cocoa beans by next October. Côte d’Ivoire currently processes about 600,000 tonnes of cocoa annually.
© 2023 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.
