South African firm declines Zambian fruit processing partnership because of bad roads

Poor roads have scuttled negotiations for revival of the cannery industry in in Zambia's Mwinilunga district.

Project coordinator Moses Tamele said negotiations between his company Freshmot and a South African firm had been terminated after the South African firm expressed reservations about the state of the road network in the area. Negotiations between the two firms had been ongoing for several months.

Mr Tamele, who is also Freshmot managing director, said the poor road network linking more than 1,500 farmers in the area was one of the key factors to the venture’s failure.

“We nearly concluded the deal positively, but our partners have a different understanding of the area which we were trying to attract them to and one of the factors is the poor road network linking the various farmers,” Mr Tamele said.

The development now leaves Freshpikt, another fruit processing firm which buys more than 40 tonnes of fruit from the North Western Province for processing. Fresh Pikt chairman, Chance Kabaghe said the firm would continue to encourage out-grower schemes, although it had no immediate plans to set up a processing factory in the area.

A huge amount of fresh fruit goes to waste each year in the province due to lack of an effective market outlet.

A local farmer, Mizinga Kayombo, said Freshpikt should endeavour to enter into long term contracts with fruit farmers.

He observed that as long as the road network remains un-attended to, no foreign investors would be attracted to the area.

Times of Zambia