Kalene Hills Fruit Factory in Mwinilunga district in North-Western province is scheduled to commence full scale production of various products in the second quarter of 2023.
This follows the acquisition of all the necessary operational compliances and permits from relevant regulatory bodies and the passing of the user acceptance test of its products.
Kalene Hills Factory General Manager, Wilson Sunga, says the firm is now ready to go into full-fledged production and is also set to place its products on the market.
“So the expectation is that within quarter two of 2023, the asset will roll into full-fledged production,” he said.
Mr Sunga told ZANIS in an interview today that the factory will produce a number of products whose production and sample products have already been certified safe for human consumption.
He said the factory is producing bottled water, mango and pineapple juices, tomato based sauces and ketchups, jams and various canned fruits.
The water from Kalene Hills Factory is already on the market.
Mr Sunga explained that the factory is targeting both the local and international markets for is products.
He added that Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo are prime target markets due to their proximity to the factory.
Meanwhile, Mr Sunga has revealed that at full operational capacity, the factory will create about 200 direct jobs while over 6,000 indirect jobs will be created from out grower schemes.
The out grower schemes are co-managed by World Vision Zambia, Musika and the Ministry of Agriculture.
He explained that the factory will rely on the local market for the supply of feed stock, adding that work is being done to increase the out grower schemes population from the current 6,000 to about 30,000 farmers in the first 48 months of its operations.
In July 2022, President Hakainde Hichilema commissioned the Kalene Hills Fruit Factory in Mwinilunga district.
