The Dangote Tomato Processing Factory (DTPF) in Kadawa of Kano State; has commenced production with an installed tonnes of fresh tomatoes per day, an official of the firm has stated.
The Managing Director of DTPF, Abdulkadir Kaita, disclosed yesterday in Kadawa on that the processing firm, which began test production last week, had processed 500 tons of tomatoes.
His words: “We have not commenced production at full capacity by processing over 120 tonnes of fresh tomatoes from local farmers in the state. This is the reason why we are taking the product in batches,” said Kaita.
He said the company would do everything possible to ensure that the
tomato paste meets required quality standards.
As stated by him, the management of the company will fix a tentative date for the official inauguration of the company before the end of first half of this year.
He said the company bought tomatoes from farmers at higher prices than what obtains in the open market.
He continued: “We purchase tomatoes at N20, 000 per ton irrespective of its species. So, we buy a basket of the commodity above N1, 000 per basket and the current price at the market is N300.
This is more than three folds the price in the local market. The farmers are happy about the price; because we have had several meetings with the officials of their association before we agreed on the prices. Once we collect the
tomato, the company will pay you within two days.”
Guardian