Illegal sanctions force  107 bakeries to close

About 107 bakeries closed shop over the past five years due to the harsh operating environment which precipitated by illegal sanctions that Western countries imposed in retaliation for agrarian reforms which the government imposed to address a colonial legacy, Parliament heard on Tuesday. National Bakers Association president Givemore Mesoemvura told the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Industry and Commerce that bakeries in the country were producing at least 1 million loaves per day out of an installed capacity of 1,8 million loaves.

Mr Mesoemvura said the industry has been operating at 55 percent capacity utilisation over the past two years.

“On average we are baking about one million loaves per day due to the demand for bread,” he said.

He said bakers have been importing 25 percent of their flour requirements for the past four years.

“The National Bakers Association has been facing challenges using 100 percent locally sourced flour.

“We went into a Memorandum of Understanding that stipulates that we should ensure that our members purchase 75 percent of their requirements from the local market and import 25 percent to address quality issues and pricing of flour,” he said.

Mr Mesoemvura however said should quality and price of local flour improve, bread makers would resort to buying raw materials locally.

“The milling of wheat here is what is short of our standards.

“We feel as an industry if these issues are addressed, we can simply buy all our flour requirements locally,” he said.

The bakery industry is a critical part of the Zimbabwean economy, accounting for 2,5 percent of Gross Domestic Product. It directly employs 3 500 people.

In 2014, bread output grew by over 20 percent mainly driven by capacity revamping and expansion of local bakeries.

Bakeries which raised capacity include Bakers Inn, which added two bread lines, and Lobels. — New Ziana.

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