Dutch firm plans Sh13.8bn sisal plant in Tanga
Dar es Salaam. A Dutch-owned agri-processing company is planning to establish a $6 million (Sh13.8 billion) sisal processing company in Tanga as the government strives to restore the lost glory of the produce.
Grosso Sisal Company Limited will focus on producing sisal products like fibers for the global market needs.
The investment will also benefit sisal peasants in the region by providing markets for their produces.
The founder and chief executive officer of the company, Mr Nuradin Osman, said at the weekend that the company in collaboration with the government and other stakeholders would also focus on mitigating issues hindering the qualitative growth of the Tanzanian sisal industry.
He said research has shown that only two percent of the sisal grown in Tanzania is developed and 98 percent of it is wasted.
“The value-chain has consistently been underutilised since only two percent of the sisal fiber is extracted, and waste is discarded. This situation limits the potential to create a vibrant industry,” he said.
He said the company would facilitate the agronomy as part of the $700,000 invested in the project’s first phase.
“The contracts that will be signed between Grosso sisal and the sisal farmers will create the best approach to tackling the yield issue through agronomic interventions,” he said.
He said the focus will be to make Tanzania the fastest-growing sisal exporting nation around Africa and beyond as well as enhanced productivity, employment opportunities, and maximization of the sisal plants within the sector, which will be expected as the aftermath of the project.
“The plan will focus on leveraging the sisal productivity capacity to ultimately affect the Tanzanian sisal industry in a more profitable venture,” he said.
He noted that there are obsolete technologies, and low returns to the farmers, investors, and other industry stakeholders and therefore the industry cannot attract the global market share, which ultimately affects the country’s economic situation.
