THE Minister for Industries, Trade and Investment, Mr Charles Mwijage is saddened by importation of toothpick, when a machine to make the product costs only 28,000 US dollars.
Minister Mwijage is one of the people
spending huge amount of money to import tooth picks in large containers,
when the country has a raw material that can be used to make the
product.
“This is one of the things that saddens
me very much…business people are importing 800 containers of tooth
picks, when the costs of one machine to make them is only US 28,000
dollars,” Minister Mwijage said calling on the MPs to access the
opportunity or get investors to produce tooth picks which uses wood
leftovers.
He said he will direct the Tanzania
Bureau of Standards (TBS) ban importation of tooth picks once the MPs
agree that the product will be manufactured in the country instead of
being imported.
Minister Mwijage was responding to a
supplement question from Paschal Haonga (Mbozi – Chadema) who wanted to
know when the government will stop importation of tooth picks, when
Tanzania has a lot of raw material to manufacture the product.
Responding to Ambassador Adadi Rajabu
(Muheza –CCM) who wanted to know when the government will establish a
juice processing industry in Muheza and help address market challenges
facing farmers in the area, Minister Mwijage said his ministry is
encouraging private sector to invest in Muheza, Tanga region.
Ambassador Rajabu said Muheza District
is rich in various types of fruits including oranges, mangoes and
jackfruit but farmers lack markets, stressing that establishing juice
processing industries will bring markets closer to the farmers.
The Minister said M/S Sasumua Holding
has established a major project of fruit farming in Kwamsisi-Handeni
Tanga region, which will be done in a process that will involve
outgrowers, and by 2018 a juice process plant will be in place and in
operation.
“The investor has chosen to start with
pineapples…it’s my expectation that the investors achievements will
attract other investors to invest in the fruit processing industry,”
Mwijage noted.
He said the investor will invest in
17,000 hectares of land and will outsource the fruits from outgrowers
who have a total of 3,000 hectares for planting the pineapples
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