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NewsDay

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Yeast maker targets regional markets

Business
Gweru-based yeast manufacturer, Lesaffre Zimbabwe, formerly Anchor Yeast, is targeting the regional market following a $10 million upgrade of its plant, which has had the company up its capacity, a Cabinet minister has said.

BY Stephen Chadenga

Gweru-based yeast manufacturer, Lesaffre Zimbabwe, formerly Anchor Yeast, is targeting the regional market following a $10 million upgrade of its plant, which has had the company up its capacity, a Cabinet minister has said.

“I am advised that Lesaffre already exports the products to Zambia and Malawi, with South Africa, Mozambique and other Sadc countries under consideration for exports.”

The company has a complement of 160 employees.

“I am informed that the yeast factory provides the economy with the much-needed yeast and premixes into the baking and brewing industry, and produces waste through a 11km pipeline umbilical cord,” he said.

“The effluent from the yeast factory is channelled as organic fertiliser to support livestock pastures and crop production at Geluck Farm. This innovation is not only environmentally-friendly and sustainable, but also improves production and productivity as a whole.”

Lesaffre Zimbabwe general manager Munyaradzi Mutsvairo said the company was now operating at 80% capacity, following the upgrading of its plant.

Mutsvairo, however, said the company requires US$350 000 per month to import raw materials. The foreign-sourced raw materials constitute about 40% of the company’s inputs.

A French firm Sociètè Industrielle Lesaffre (Lesaffre) in 2015 acquired a 60% stake in Zimbabwe’s Anchor Yeast.

The company is a global leader in the manufacture of yeast and fermentation products, with a presence in over 180 countries.