Zhongkai International Limited, an Ethanol processing plant, has disclosed that Cassava is currently running out on the Zambian market due to demand for the crop used to manufacture ethanol. Ethanol’s demand has skyrocketed on covid 19 as its used as an additive in hand sanitizers and other hygiene products.
Zhongkai Managing Director Chen Guiping disclosed to the Zambian Business Times – ZBT in an exclusive interview on April 9, 2020 that the company is in the next two weeks expected to diversify and start buying over 5,000 tonnes of molasses as cassava is currently running out on the market due to it’s high demand in the current COVID – 19 situation.
Zhongkai has announced its plans to buy over 5,000 tonnes of molasses at an initial cost of K6 million for the production of ethanol which is used for hand sanitizers and other hygiene products. Molasses is a by-product resulting from refining of sugar cane during the sugar production process.
He told ZBT that currently, the company uses 250 tonnes of cassava in a day which costs about K2,000 to K5,000 per ton hence we are likely to use 500 tonnes of molasses in a day to cost about K7,000 per ton. Zambia Sugar however sets the price per ton which may vary.
Guiping disclosed to ZBT that cassava is slowly running out on the market as farmers have not yet harvested, hence the need to modify to the use of sugar cane molasses to ensure people are still provided with ethanol to be used for formulating hand sanitizers and other hygiene products especially during this COVID – 19.
He said the company has since seen an increase in production by over 30 percent in this period as it’s products are currently being sold across the country and has advised farmers to grow more cassava and diversify to other plants and crops like sugarcane saying the market is readily available for them.
“Currently we buy our cassava from Northern, Luapula, Western and North – Western provinces, however we are ready to extend our buying program to other places if only farmers are ready to grow and sell their cassava to us through our partner offices at Musika, and we are also buying our molasses from Mazabuka”, He said.
He also said the company has employeed over 25 agricators across the country who train famers on how to grow, prepare and harvest dry cassava to make it ready for the market. This initiative is meant to help increase production of Cassava.
In addition, Guiping said from July 2019 to date, the company has bought over 7,000 tonnes of cassava from farmers and has since anticipated to purchase close to 50,000 tonnes of cassava for the 2020/2021 marketing session.
