* To meet the demand of the oil refinery factory in Limbe, which has been commissioned by President Chakwera yesterday
* It will be crushing 500 tonnes of soya beans per day, which means that local soya farmers will have a readily available market
* The plant will require about 150,000 tonnes of soya every harvesting season to support the whole value chain
By Memory Kutengule-Chatonda, MANA
Bakhresa Malawi Limited General Manager, Venkatesh Rao Pattipati, has challenged commercial farmers to increase soya beans production to meet the demand of the oil refinery factory, which President Lazarus Chakwera commissioned yesterday in Limbe.
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Pattipati emphasised that the US$100 million investment solvent extraction plant plant will be crushing 500 tonnes of soya beans per day, which means that local soya farmers will have a readily available market.
The plant will require about 150,000 tonnes of soya every harvesting season to support the whole value chain and Pattipati stressed that the factory has more huge benefits to Malawi — including offering employment to over 500 direct local employees.
He added that the company is committed to diversifying its operations in Malawi with more investments in line with the country’s National Export Strategy, industrialisation, mechanised agriculture, inclusive economic development and wealth creation in line with MW2063 national vision.
It will also “increase tax revenue to the government, stabilising cooking oil prices and also providing a reliable and consistent market for soya beans to locals”.
On his part, President Chakwera attested to that the newly commissioned solvent extraction plant and cooking oil refinery as a milestone towards realisation of MW2063 agenda through production and industrialisation.
Chakwera said Malawi stands to benefit massively through the factory investment. “What this factory does is to make Malawi a producer of export-quality bread flour, because the production of 500 metric tons of bread flour that happens here every day is what MW2063 means by productivity.
“What this factory does is to save Malawi millions of dollars in forex, employing over 300 people and provide our farmers with a ready market for their soya,” said the Malawi leader.
He emphasised that his administration plans to facilitate the investment of companies like Bakhresa to increase the productive capacity of the farmers.
“At the moment, Malawi already has the capacity to process 600,000 tons of soya, and this Bakhresa plant will now mean we can process close to 800,000 metric tons.
“Our farmers only produce 200,000 metric tons of soya, which means that we need to help them increase their production of soya four times in order for factories like this to operate at their full capacity,” he said.
Minister of Industry & Trade Vitumbiko Mumba, hailed Bakhresa for the factory investment, observing that it accelerates industrial growth in Malawi that creates jobs, substitutes imports, and strengthens the foundations of inclusive growth.
Bakhresa Malawi Company has grown from a flour milling business to diversify into other products like Azam laundry soap, Azam TV and now into cooking oil refinery which will increase the company’s contribution to the local economy.—Edited by Maravi Express; Pictures by Abel Ikiloni, MANA
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