Zimbabwe
2.7 Zimbabwe Milling Assessment

The milling capacity of the country is commendable. There are several players in the market who are able to handle large amounts of tonnage. The infrastructure for milling is still in place albeit after eleven years of poor maintenance and underutilization. The facilities will need extensive refurbishment should there be an interest in redeveloping this industry. Below is an example of the National Foods infrastructure. 

Milling Company National Foods Ltd  

National Foods have possibly the best and most comprehensive milling related facilities within the country. The network and infrastructure was designed to accommodate the farming capacity and national demand for both storage and milling.

Company Name & Address

Contact Names & Email

Telephone & Fax

National Foods Holdings Limited

10 Stirling Rd, Workington 

Harare

Name: Michael Lashbrook

Title: Chief Executive Officer

Email: michaella@natfood.co.zw

Web: www.natfood.co.zw

Tel: (+263) 4 781182-91

 

Summary of Role and Services:

National Foods is the country's leading producer of maize roller meal, super refined meal and wheat flour. Together with a complementary range of household staples, their products have a reputation for consistent and premium quality.

Natpak is the packaging division of National Foods Ltd and is involved in the business of converting polymer into packaging products. They produce and supply a wide variety of polypropylene packaging for application in various industries that include: Agriculture, Milling, Fertilizer, Cement, Sugar and Stockfeeds.

Facilities

Parking area inside compound m²

Spacious-very good

Drainage

(Good / Fair / Poor / Non Existent)

Good

Fire Fighting Equipment (Yes / No)

Yes

Number of Ventilators

4

Screened

Backup Generator 

(Yes / No / KVA)

Yes

250 KVA

Milling Equipment

Origin of Machinery

Year of Mfg

Year of Installation

Condition

Beula, South Africa

1980

1980

Good

Maintenance

Type of maintenance

Equipment is maintained and serviced regularly by Beula (the supplier) from South Africa

Other Equipment or Machinery Installed

Type of Equipment

Yes/No

Number

Owned

Fortification Feeder

Yes

1

Yes

Bag Cleaning Plant

Yes

1

Yes

Moisture Tester

Yes

1

Yes

De-stoning Plant

Yes

1

Yes

Metal Extractor

Yes

1

Yes

Staffing

Number of full time skilled workers

5

Number of full time labourers

20

Weighbridge

Number 

Two weighbridges available for road and rail traffic

Building

 

Length (m)

Width (m)

Height (m)

Building – Wheat Mill

50

20

4.5

Building- Storage

60

30

4.5

Walls

Cement blocks

Roof

Asbestos sheets

Floor

Cement

Conditions & Cleanliness

  

Outside

Inside

Cracks in walls or roof (Yes / No)

No

No

Signs of rodent activity (Yes / No)

No

No

Signs of birds entry (Yes / No)

No

No

Damaged gutters/drains(Yes / No)

No

No

Signs of moisture (Yes / No)

No

No

Adjacent Vegetation(Yes / No)

No

No

Cleanliness (Good / Poor)

Good

Good

Pest Control

Fumigation

Yes

Frequency

Regular

Contracted

(Yes / No)

Yes - by Paul’s Pest Control.

Spraying 

Yes

Frequency

Regular

Contracted

(Yes / No)

Yes - by Paul’s Pest Control.

Rodenticides 

Yes

Frequency

Regular

Contracted

(Yes / No)

Yes - by Paul’s Pest Control.

Rodent Trapping

 

Frequency

Regular

Contracted

(Yes / No)

Yes - by Paul’s Pest Control.

Security 

Security

(Good / Poor)

Marginal

Compound

(Fenced / Not Fenced)

Fenced

Access

Distance from main town (km)

2 km

Travel time if not located in town (hours)

N/A

Road condition to Mill

Good

Rail connections

(Yes / No)

Yes

Milling Capacity (Mt)

Commodities

Daily Capacity (mt)

Monthly Activity (mt)

Sorghum

160Mt

4500Mt

Maize

160Mt

4500Mt

Soya

160Mt

4500Mt

Storage Capacity

Storage in Metric Tonnes

Covered (mt)

Flour – Covered (mt)

Within the Compound

6 000Mt

 

Capacity to Blend

  • Toll crushing services for Soya beans and cottonseed are available at National Foods plants. These are offered to stock feed manufacturers, farmers, traders and commodity brokers. They also toll refine crude vegetable oils for NGO's, Companies and Commodity Brokers.

Loading & Discharge Rates

  • US$28.00/Mt handled (Milling)

Transport Capacity at Mill

  •  WFP provides trucks for loading and it also happens that National Foods’ transport division is also very strong and was at one time WFP contracted transporters.

Additional Notes

  • There is a list of other milling companies operating in Zimbabwe provided as an annex. 
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