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Business Reporter
Bulawayo based biscuits and sweet manufacturer Lobel’s Biscuits and Sweets is expecting to turn over $20 million this year up from $16 million last year.

Production capacity at the company shot up from 35 to 40 percent to 65 to 85 percent as a result of the gazetting of a statutory instrument compelling importers of biscuits to apply for permits and the commissioning of a fourth oven that cost $1,2 million.

Managing director Mr Clinton Lecluse told a delegation of diplomats and representatives from lending agencies such as Afrexim Bank that the gazetting of the statutory instrument has been very beneficial to the whole sector.

“When the statutory instrument was gazetted the benefits were almost instant and we managed to increase our employees by 140 employees,” he said.

He added that although there have been leakages at the northern and southern border posts the statutory instrument remains beneficial to them.

Mr Lecluse said that they were looking at acquiring a fifth oven to further increase capacity as well as growing and diversifying their exports which currently accounts for 10 percent of the company’s production.

“We are exporting to South Africa, Botswana and Zambia but due to the continuing devaluation of the rand we have had to look at companies that are not affected by the devaluation such as Malawi, Madagascar and Angola,” he said.

Turning to the issue of procurement of raw materials, Mr Lecluse said that they were having to import most of their raw materials due to limited capacity on the part of local suppliers although they were committed to increase their local procurement.

He said that their procurement policy was based on three aspect import parity price, quality and guaranteed supply.

“We will not hesitate to buy if all the three boxes are ticked,” he said.

He said that one of the areas that they were working on was procuring local sugar but the sticking point has been on the need for local sugar producers to charge an import parity price.

He added that they were also talking to National Foods on the issue coming up with the right mix of flour that is compatible with the new machinery that they have installed.

Lobels, which currently employs 550 people was established in 1955 as a bread and biscuit manufacturer before the company abandoned bread making to concentrate on biscuits and later the company diversified into making sweets.