By Llywellenie Mpasa:
Bakhresa Malawi Limited, a subsidiary of Tanzania-based Bakhresa Group, has initiated a $100 million project to establish a state-of-the-art soya bean processing and cooking oil refinery in Blantyre.
The company’s executive director, Abubakar Bakhresa, said the initiative aligns with Malawi’s goals of enhancing local value addition and reducing dependence on volatile international markets for crude cooking oil.
“The prices of cooking oil are expected to stabilise as we plan to source soya beans locally, reducing the need for importing crude cooking oil,” he said.
He said the factory, which boasts the capacity to crush 500 tonnes of soya beans daily, has the potential to revolutionise the domestic agro-processing landscape.
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He said the project would alleviate Malawi’s foreign exchange challenges by reducing the trade deficit through value-added exports.
“This project will significantly stimulate smallholder farmers to embrace crop diversification and grow more soya bean because of the readily available market,” he said.
Speaking during a visit by shareholders and senior management from the Bakhresa Group’s headquarters in Dar es Salaam, the director said the project is set to be operational within five months.
“We aim to procure around 150,000 tonnes of soya beans each harvest season. This will support the domestic agricultural sector and contribute to the National Export Strategy II (NES II) by boosting the presence of ‘Made in Malawi’ products in regional and global markets,” Bakhresa said.
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The refinery is expected to create direct employment for approximately 500 local Malawians, with thousands more benefitting indirectly through the value chain.
He said the facility would produce various high-value products, including soya de-oiled cake, soya lecithin, crude soya bean oil, free fatty acids, soap stocks, spent earth, and fly ash all intended for export markets.
“This will generate the much-needed foreign exchange and promote economic stability,” he said.
He reaffirmed the company’s commitment to supporting the MW 2063 vision of industrialisation and inclusive economic development.
