A private company known as Mount Meru Millers Limited plans to upgrade its sunflower processing plant in Singida Region to make it possible to conduct double refinery of the edible oil.
Upon completion, which is slated for June next year, the plant will have a capacity to process 800 tonnes of sunflower per day, according to Deputy Minister for Industry and Trade Gregory Teu.
The plant will assure sunflower growers in Singida and neighbouring regions of reliable market for their produce and also provide high quality edible oil for local and foreign markets.
The Deputy Minister made the revelation in response to a basic question by Iramba West MP Mwigulu Mchemba (CCM) who had tasked the government to explain how it was set to put up a plant in the region to boost production of the cash crop.
In his response, Mr Teu also noted that a graduate from the Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) has, through the Sokoine University Graduate Entrepreneurs Cooperative (SUGECO), acquired a loan from CRDB Bank to set up a refinery plant.
“The plant has been installed in Ulemo Village in Iramba District and will have a capacity to process six tonnes of sunflower per day,” The Deputy Minister said.
He went on to add that the government has been encouraging the private sector to invest in industries including plants to process sunflower among other crops. The Deputy Minister expressed optimism that the two plants will go a long way into boosting farming of sunflower in Singida Region as farmers will be assured of ready market
Source Tanzania Daily News