Tue, 14 Mar 2017 11:03:17 +0000
By SANDRA MACHIMA
THE production and processing of crude palm oil is expected to drastically reduce Zambia’s dependence on crude palm oil and edible oil imports, says Zambeef board chairman Jacob Mwanza.
Dr Mwanza said that current import figures stood at over US$70 million every year, and were a costly exercise for Zambia which consumed around 120,000 tonnes of cooking oil but only produces 30-50 percent of the total supply.
He said more than half of Zambia’s edible oil consumption was imported from the far, East, East Africa and South Africa.
Dr Mwanza said that ZAMBEEF’s Zampalm plantation in Muchinga Province has started commercial production of palm oil and its quality was already impressing buyers such as global industries.
“We are very excited about the opportunities and possibilities the venture presents for both the company and the country, and for the first time we will have quality palm oil being produced, refined and sold locally,
“This is a huge step towards industrialisation and raising the country’s agro-processing portfolio,” he said.
Dr Mwanza said once fully operational, the plantation would contribute to substituting 70,000 tonnes of cooking oil imported into Zambia, and saving the country around US$70 million in foreign exchange outflows every year.
He said Zampalm would also at a later stage, look at branching out into SADC market, targeting countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Angola, which were also massive importers of the crude palm oil.
Dr Mwanza said Zampalm plans to further work with small-scale farmers in the area to set up an out grower scheme to feed palm fruit into the Zampalm mill, to allow local farmers in the area to participate and contribute towards edible oil production in the country.
“We expect to see an increase in demand for palm oil in Zambia as the country further develops and new industries and markets are created,” said Dr Mwanza.
Global Industries Ltd CEO Malolan Sampath said the quality of oil was outstanding and the initiative would allow the company to move away from crude palm oil imports and thus be able to be more competitive in terms of its finished products.
“We are very happy to be working with Zambeef to bring Zambian palm oil to the market, been the world’s most used and versatile vegetable oil.”
The palm plant is the most efficient oil producing plant and can be harvested for 25 years and as long as the tree continues to yield a harvest. The Zampalm project was launched in 2009 and currently had some 409,506 palms planted over an area of 2,873 hectares in the main plantation, with another 39,000 seedlings in the main and pre-nursery.
It in 2015 commissioned its first US$1 million crushing mill plant with a crushing capacity of two to three tonnes of fresh palm fruit per hour, producing a yield of around 18 per cent of crude palm oil.
