Firm to set up textile plant

The Malawi Cotton Company Limited (MCCL), a Balaka-based Chinese-owned cotton ginner, has unveiled plans to open a multi-million kwacha textile mill to add value to the country’s cotton, a development that will fill the gap in the textile industry.

The company’s agriculture manager Trueman Kachale said on Friday the textile plant will create more job opportunities for Malawians and also help to diversify export products to boost the country’s foreign exchange generation avenues.

“The textile plant will change the exporting of raw cotton and low profit products and elevate the Malawi industry significantly, accelerating the country’s industrialisation. Furthermore, it will promote the relationship between Malawi and China to a new level,” he said during the first media tour of the company’s plant since its inception on November 4 2008.

MCCL, located in Balaka, is a subsidiary of China Africa Cotton Development Limited and makes full use of hi-tech equipment and carries out a number of different businesses including cotton seed breeding, distribution, planting, processing, marketing, oil processing and sale of cotton by-products.

Currently, the company employs 1 500 people and 100 000 farmers directly benefit from the company through competitive cotton seed buying prices currently hovering at K225 (56 US cents) per kilogramme which is above the government set minimum price of K150 (about 37 cents) per kg.

The company’s core business is cotton ginning and has two ginning facilities in Balaka and Salima which it acquired from Cargill. It also crushes the seed at its Balaka office for edible oils processing.

“We encourage cotton farmers to grow the crop. We have over 350 rural markets/depots in predominantly cotton growing areas through which we make available to farmers farm inputs and provide extension services and also use the same outlets to produce seed cotton,” said Kachale, flanked by the company’s general manager Yan Peize and assistant general manager Wei Bing.

He said the company will support all efforts to lessen pressure on government expenditure in areas where the private sector can apply its expertise through the creation of strategic partnerships with companies both local and international.

One of the cotton farmers in the district, Aumel Jamu said his life has changed since the company started buying the crop from them.

“Their prices are competitive and they keep on rising as compared to other companies. Our lives have changed for the better since the company came,” he said, encouraging other farmers to grow more cotton for its profitability.

The company makes available to farmers certified chureza cotton seed, supplies effective cotton pesticides and adds value to the crop in line with the Malawi Government’s emphasis on value addition to all raw materials. It processes the cotton seed into lint, edible oils and animal feed.

Cotton is one of Malawi’s strategic crops which is profitable through its value chain.