Seifu WeldeMichael, (above, pictured) managing director and the major shareholder of the company.
By BEWKET ABEBE - FORTUNE STAFF WRITER
With almost all the juice consumed in the county coming from Arab countries, Seka looks to fill a large gap
Within the next 18 months, Seka Agro Processing Plc – a rice and improved mango processor – is to establish a ten million dollar juice processing factory in the Megenteya area of Bench Maji Zone, in the Southern Regional State.
The factory, which also includes a cold store, will rest on a four hectare plot, located two kilometres from the company’s mango farm.
In addition to supplying the local market, the company aims to export juice concentrate to the Middle East, as well as fresh juice to the East African region, according to Seifu WeldeMichael, managing director and major shareholder of the company.
‘‘We have completed the machinery selection process,’’ Seifu informed Fortune.
The company has ordered evaporating, concentrating and aseptic filling machines from Germany, and product processing and washing machines from Italy.
Seka is aiming to produce a total of 407,100ql of raw mango. Out of this, 50pc is planned to be processed for concentrates. The company will target the East African and Middle Eastern markets, for fresh juice and concentrate, respectively.
Eighty percent of the company’s concentrate juice will be packed in the Middle East. The remaining 20pc will be packed by the company, with the aim of selling it primarily to the growing local market. This is in addition to exporting it to the East African region, particularly South Sudan, said Seifu.
So far, Seka has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with four juice-packing companies, including Gulf Union Food Co, Cedar’s Premium Food and Beverage SAL and Juice Pack Industries Plc. Ethio Agri-CEFT, one of the MIDROC companies, is also negotiating with Seka, according to Seifu.
“We are optimistic about our export destinations. We are particularly excited about exporting to the Middle East, in the form of concentrate, and to East African countries, such as South Sudan, in the form of fresh juice,” said Seifu.
The mango farm and the new factory are only 270km away from South Sudan.
“We consider South Sudan a fertile ground for our fresh juice export, since it does not have a juice packing factory,” Seifu told Fortune.
Seka Agro Processing Plc was one of the 20 companies to win a prize from the Southern Regional State in an investment consultative forum held on June 2, 2013. It was awarded for succeeding in its plantation project, and for evolving into agro-processing. This is what the country needs to achieve the Growth & Transformation Plan (GTP), according to Yesuf Sani, the Southern Region Investment Agency director.
“They have completed the plantation project and cleared the land for the construction of the factory. In addition to its contribution to import substitution, this can be a good showcase for others intending to invest in the region,” he said.
To date, almost 100pc of the juice consumed in the local market is imported, mainly from Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries. These juice-packing countries, in turn, import the majority of their raw material inputs from Ethiopia.
Using 2,714ha of land it obtained in the Southern Regional State in 2007, Seka has been growing six different types of improved mango seeds – Alphonso, which makes up 65pc of the total production, apple, Tommy Atkins, kent, patipuri and dodo from Kenya, South Africa and Israel.
Initially established in 2007 with about 20 million dollars, including an 80 million Br loan from the Development Bank of Ethiopia (DBE), Seka’s capital reached 350 million Br last year, according to an assessment done by Ernst & Young.
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