THE year 2012 has been a very difficult one for Zimbabwe’s manufacturing sector.
Report by Victoria Mtomba
Lack of capital, antiquated machinery and high operating costs are some of the problems that have affected local industries.
NewsDay Business Reporter (ND) Victoria Mtomba spoke to Nestle Zimbabwe managing director Kumbirai Katsande (KK) on the year 2012 in retrospect. Below are excerpts of the interview.
ND: How has been the year 2012 for you as Nestle Zimbabwe? KK: The year 2012 has been good for Nestle Zimbabwe in spite of the economic challenges being faced by industry in general. We have recorded double digit growth in 2012 although the last quarter of the year has shown a significant decline in consumer off take. The continuing devaluation of the rand versus the US$ is making local production less price competitive as imports from South Africa are lending cheaply.
ND: What were your challenges this year and how do you intend to address them in 2013? KK: The major challenges were the shortage of electricity, water and liquidity in the country. The company has invested in an electricity generator and a borehole to mitigate the shortages.
ND: In terms of profitability, what has been the contribution of Nestle Zimbabwe to the regional group? Is the contribution better or worse compared to 2011? KK: Nestle Zimbabwe’s results are consolidated in the Nestle group. Nestle group results for year 31 December, 2012 will be published in February 2013.
ND: How far are you with your dairy revival project? KK: Significant progress was achieved in the first year of the project measured by the increase in deliveries of milk to the factory by 10%. The project will be rolled out further to Matabeleland, Masvingo and Midlands regions in 2013 to 2014.
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ND: How many dairy cows have you distributed so far this year? KK: 543 dairy cows were distributed this year of which 200 have gone to small scale farmers and 343 to Nestlé-contracted dairy farmers.
ND: What have you done in terms of complying with the indigenisation law as Nestle Zimbabwe? KK: We submitted our plans to the government.
ND: Are you now managing to supply Cerevita adequately to all your markets? KK: Since the commissioning of the cereals manufacturing line in September 2012 by the Permanent Secretary of Industry and Commerce, Abigail Shonhiwa, Cerevita has been on free supply due to increased production volumes.
ND: What are your plans for 2013 as Nestle Zimbabwe? KK: The capital expenditure programmes that started in 2010 will continue in 2013.
Due to the increase in cereals production capacity and also the increase in raw milk intake from dairy farmers, we are now in a position to increase exports in 2013 to Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique. The outlook looks bright for Nestle Zimbabwe.
