By Kingsley Jassi:
Minister of Industry and Trade Vitumbiko Mumba expects that a $100 million investment in a cooking oil manufacturing plant by Bakhresa Malawi in Blantyre will reduce prevailing retail prices once it is launched.
He said in an interview that the facility would be launched soon, describing it as a significant investment project that will make an impact on the industrial base, sending a strong positive signal of the country’s investment climate.
“The President, when he is in the Southern Region next month, will be launching a multi-million-dollar heavy cooking oil production line by Bakhresa, which will significantly reduce the price of cooking oil,” Mumba said.
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In a separate interview, Bakhresa Malawi Limited Human Resource and Compliance Manager Richard Tchereko confirmed the development indicating the plant is ready for production.
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“We have done trials and are impressed with the good quality of the product. We have also received MBS pre-certification and waiting for soya bean buying season to commence production.
“The price of cooking oil will depend largely on price of soya beans and availability. However we are very sure that international market price volatility can be avoided with local soya bean production by our small holder farmers, hence we encourage our farmers to grow more soya beans,” Tchereko said.
Speaking in June last year at the project site in Limbe, Tanzania-based Bakhresa Group executive director Abubakar Bakhresa promised that the investment would be operational in four months from that time but has experienced delays.
He further said the company would diversify further in line with the country’s development goals under the ATMM strategy and National Export Strategy.
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This comes as cooking oil prices in Malawi have been on the increase lately owing to the high cost of production amid forex shortages that have been affecting the importation of crude oil for processing.
The country has been failing to produce enough cooking oil raw materials, mainly soya, undersupplying the manufacturing industry that is understood to require over 500,000 metric tonnes annually.
It is yet to be known how the company will ensure adequate raw material supply for the new investment which, according to the company, will be processing 500 tonnes of soya beans per day with locally sourced raw materials, promising a significant value chain.
Meanwhile, manufacturing has suffered numerous challenges including raw materials, forex and power shortages over the past few years, reportedly contracting by 14 percent since 2019.
