SOUTH AFRICAN BREWEREIS NEW $30MILLION CHIBUKU FACTORY SET TO BOOST EFFICIENCIES

NEW modern production facilities are set to boost efficiency at the National Breweries Chibuku plant that was officially opened by Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry Hon. Margaret Mwanakatwe on April 6,2016.

The construction company that built this successful project is Liege Africa. The U$30 million Lusaka plant is the most modern Chibuku plant in Africa and is the SABMiller Group’s largest investment in Chibuku to date across the continent.

The development is part of the group’s long-term investment plan in Zambia and aims to improve the product quality and production efficiency of the popular and affordable opaque beer brand.

Those efficiency gains will also result in greater production volumes and more business for small-scale farmer suppliers who provide the brewery with maize, thus bringing economic growth and national development, explained Managing Director Annabelle Degroot.

The new factory is set to increase capacity from 1 million hectolitres of Chibuku per year to 1.5 million hectolitres, with the option to expand further to 2.5 million hectolitres. Its staff of some 200 people help produce the opaque beer in cartons, PET bottles and returnable plastic bottles.

But she warned that this progress could be jeopardised by a reluctance to enforce Statutory Instrument No. 72 of 2012 – the Liquor Licensing (Intoxicating Liquor) (Quantities and Packaging) Regulation, 2012, which bans the production, transport and sale of alcohol in bulk containers.

The sale of such inferior opaque beer in illegal unregulated bulk packaging is a danger to public health and deprives the treasury of tax revenue, she said.

Ms Degroot, made the remarks during the commissioning of the new state-of-the-art plant in Sheki Sheki Road, Lusaka, opened by the Minister of Commerce.

“The future of Zambia and its economic development matters deeply to us. So, too, does the future of Zambia’s agricultural sector. We look to the nation’s farmers to supply raw materials for the Chibuku we brew here. The same farmers are also, I believe, critically important to the future of Zambia and to its hopes for progress and prosperity,” said Ms Degroot.

With the company’s inputs of maize sourced from local farmers, Mrs Mwanakatwe was impressed by how the company was benefitting small-scale Zambian farmers and how the new factory would ultimately fit into Zambia’s growth story.

“There is no economy in the world that has developed without the full participation of the private sector. A viable and well-functioning private sector operating in a competitive environment will drive this country’s economy and create much-needed jobs and wealth for our people,” said the minister.

“I am aware that besides the direct and indirect jobs that this investment will create, there are also business opportunities for raw material suppliers, distributors and retailers. It is therefore gratifying to note that this new plant has a growing economic impact on local farmers through the creation of an integrated value chain which has a ripple effect on the livelihoods of maize and sorghum local farmers,” she added.

“I wish to commend National Breweries on the opening of the production plant and encourage other local companies to emulate them. We would like to see more local products on our shelves that will not be compromised in terms of taste and quality.”