Story by Stanley James, Business Editor
FOUR multinational companies have invested massively in Zimbabwe’s cooking oil sector during the past few years in response to the Government’s pro-business policies.
The Cooking Oil Expressers Association of Zimbabwe reveals that the multinational entities that have invested massively in Zimbabwe are the Export Trading Group, Wilmar, Mr Meru and Willowton.
The projects have seen Zimbabwe boasting ten cooking oil manufacturing entities as confidence in the sector rebounds.
The association president, Mr Busisa Moyo while confirming multinational firms’ appetite for local projects revealed that the trend has seen a surge in monthly production from 3000 tonnes a few years ago to the current 15 000 tonnes of cooking oil.
“The multinational companies have created a positive platform to upscale operations with the key result being the need to consolidate gains, the fact that imports of the products have been reduced by over 80% bears testimony of how the sector has attracted fresh projects that have propelled output while easing production constraints thereby creating that sort of a positive investor sentiment in the market.”
Mr Moyo highlighted how the multinationals have also partnered with the local farmers in increasing soya bean output, a key raw material for production.
“Sustainable production depends on the ability to increase output but taking into account the fact that the industry is agro-processing the multinationals combined with the local producers have gone a step ahead on further boosting output.”
Multinational entities are defined by local business firms as companies with projects in more than one country.
