Maravi

Cargill opens Zambia branch

COMMENT - I don't welcome this development. Zambia has a tough enough time taking on international mining companies. Now Cargill is claiming a piece of Zambia. What is needed is international legislation to limit the rights and abilities of these giant corporations.

Cargill opens Zambia branch
By Mutale Kapekele
Thu 18 Mar. 2010, 03:50 CAT

CARGILL, one of the biggest multinational American grain and oilseed companies in Middle East and Africa, has opened a branch in Zambia.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Zambian branch at Acacia Park in Lusaka on Tuesday, US Embassy deputy chief of party Michael Koplovsky said the coming of Cargill on the local market would help farmers get links to the international market that they previously didn’t access.

Koplovsky said the US was proud that one of its largest privately-owned companies had decided to invest in Zambia.

He said the liberalisation of trade had improved Zambian exports and that international organisations were attracted to the country by “predictable and stable economy in a peaceful environment.”

He said Cargill was known for its good corporate citizenship in America and urged them to extend their corporate social responsibilities to Zambia.

“Cargill has been involved in supporting communities in sectors such as water and health and we hope that you will continue doing that here,” he said.

And Cargill chief operating officer Pieter Reichert said the company was attracted to the country because of the blossoming grain and oilseed market.

“The grain and oilseed market in Zambia has seen exponential growth over the last few years and as a result, our trading team has grown substantially,” Reichert said.

“We intend to continue this investment in the region and significantly increase the volume of grain and oilseeds that we trade in the next 18 to 24 months.

“He said the company would focus on wheat, corn and soybeans and would collaborate with cotton farmers in Zambia.

Reichert said Cargill would provide financial and technical support to cotton farmers and give them crop inputs.

“Cargill has been working in Zambia after the acquisition of Clarke Cotton in 2006 and we shall continue supporting the farmers by providing risk management tools that will enable them to manage their own price risk when selling their crops and opens up their individual access to the market,” he said.

“As we grow in the grain and oilseed market, we are now starting to introduce cotton best practices to help our Zambian grain and oilseed supply chain reach its full potential.”

Labels: CARGILL, CORPORATIONS, FDI, SEED

posted by MrK @ 12:03 PM