National Foods capacity up

By The NewsDay | Apr. 13, 2012 | 2 Min read

One of the country’s leading milling, processing and packaging companies, National Foods, says its production capacity utilisation has increased from lows of 20% to 60%. The company’s managing director Chipo Nheta said this was partly as a result of duty imposed on imported products now available locally. At the beginning of the year, the government […]

One of the country’s leading milling, processing and packaging companies, National Foods, says its production capacity utilisation has increased from lows of 20% to 60%.

The company’s managing director Chipo Nheta said this was partly as a result of duty imposed on imported products now available locally. At the beginning of the year, the government slapped duty on imported goods, including vehicles.

Speaking at the Buy Zimbabwe Conference and Experiential Expo on Wednesday, Nheta said the manufacturing sector needed to increase capacity utilisation in order to reduce unit costs.

“We also need support from policy makers. In the milling industry we are already starting from a disadvantaged level, 30% of the landed cost is for transport,” Nheta said.

He said the country should move away from depending on imported products as had been the case in the last few years.

In December, National Foods announced the reopening of its Bulawayo flour mill as it sought to boost production and create more jobs, a spokesperson said.

This followed the opening of a rice packaging plant in Mutare and a depot in Beitbridge.

Meanwhile, Marketers’ Association of Zimbabwe president Godfrey Dube said Zimbabwe needs to implement a marketing concept and be market oriented.

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“We need to have our own brands than can go international and then meet customer satisfaction while meeting marketers’ needs,” Dube said.

Buy Zimbabwe managing director Munyaradzi Hwengwere said not everything in the country should be bought, but competitive products must be supported.

Hwengwere said for products to use the Buy Zimbabwe insignia, they should qualify on fair labour practice, be environmental friendly and have a high number of local brands.

“We want Zimbabwean products to carry an insignia to make them competitive,” Hwengwere said.

He said Buy Zimbabwe would this year launch national awards.