COMMODITIES
Ethiopia tenders 400,000 tonnes wheat import bid to meet local demand
ETHIOPIA – The Ethiopian government is set to import another batch of wheat amounting to 400,000 tonnes in bid to meet market demand. Ethiopia is among top Africa’s wheat producing countries with the commodity accounting for about 20% of the country’s total cereal production. However, the country has not been able to meet the demand of the commodity in the country which estimated by USDA stands at 6.3 million tonnes. This has led the government to continuously import wheat from the Black Sea region for the last several years. The latest purchase which will be made on behalf of the Ethiopian Trading Business Corporation will be used for the purpose of market stabilization with the wheat distributed to flour factories as well as bakery houses. As the country embarks on the importation exercise, it has been met with a couple challenges such as the recent controversy with delays in transportation of the commodity from the port. Wheat is an important commodity in the country’s food basket which has compelled the government to adopt various interventions including the provision of improved farm inputs and farm mechanisation. Notably, the government has rolled out a US$5.98 million agricultural mechanisation project set to take effect across major grain producing regions in the country. Implemented by the Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA), the project seeks to establish mechanisation centres that will capacitate wheat farmers to boost production by providing modern agricultural technology. INVESTMENTS
Pakistan based Maxim Agri to set up US$10m animal feed plant in Kenya KENYA – Maxim Agri International, a Pakistan based company has signed an agreement with the Oserian Development Company to put up an animal feed plant worth Sh1 billion (US$10 million) in Kenya. Maxim Agri International is an Agri-company dealing with feeds, fodder seeds and customized nutrition solution. Oserian is a worldwide renowned flower farm sitting on 3,00 acres of land while its industrial park occupies 750 acres of the farm. The company will be setting up the feed plant at the Oserian Two Lakes Industrial Park in Nakuru County. The contract was signed by Maxim General Manager Mr. Muhammad Salman and Oserian Company Finance Director Mr. Tim Ndikwe, witnessed by the Nakuru Governor Lee Kinyanjui. The Maxim Agri plant will be involved in genetic modification, production of cattle feed, cow comfort products and farm equipment which will lead to improved breeds and production that will offer farmers better returns. The facility is expected to boost the country’s livestock production as well as open up new markets for dairy products. The plant is scheduled for completion by January 2021. “Our focus is to produce quality feed geared towards improving productivity of the beef, maize, poultry and pig subsectors,” said Maxim General Manager Mr. Muhammad Salman. FOODBUSINESSAFRICA.COM
INVESTMENTS
Popular Farms invests US$70m in Nigeria’s rice and sesame value chains NIGERIA – Popular Farms and Mills Limited, a subsidiary of Stallion group has invested over US$70 million to boost production of paddy rice and sesame in Nigeria to enhance economic fortune of the country. The company, which has been operating for about 50 years in the country has one of the largest automated rice milling unit with an annual installed milling capacity of 150,000 metric tons and direct contact of 35,000 farmers. Popular Farms has collaborated with National Agricultural Seeds Council for the purpose of producing and satisfying the locally released and grown genetic seed. Planning to increase production, the mill is targeting an output of 1.5 million tons of paddy rice per annum through the setting up of additional milling facilities aiming to make Nigeria self-sufficient in rice production. “Our plan is to spearhead and lead the Nigerian rice revolution to self-sufficiency in rice production,” Stated the Managing Director, Popular Farms and Mills based in Kano, Mr. Amit Kumar Rai. “We intend to achieve this through training to over 24,264 rice out growers across the producing states and cooperatives, as well as empowering women and youths in the rice value chain.’’ The company is also leveraging on the policy impetus provided by the federal government through its green alternative agricultural agenda. The investment has enabled Popular Farms to upgraded its local rice milling capacity to 430,000 metric tons per annum. Mr. Amit revealed that the company is planning to inaugurate a sesame processing and cleaning facility at Challawa, Kano, Northern Nigeria. The initiative is timely as the country’s sesame seed export value to Asia and Europe is set to hit US$331m annually according to a report by Agusto & Co. Increased private investments in sesame processing which would involve investment in state-of-the-art processing facilities and raw material sourcing from reliable small- and large-scale farmers is expected to further propel growth.
OCTOBER 2019 | FOOD BUSINESS AFRICA
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