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US$1.2m cigarette company to open in Malawi

In a move to add value to Malawi's green gold, the tobacco crop, a local investor has said a cigarette manufacturing company is to go full throttle into manufacturing business in two months time.

By Gregory Gondwe

22 Jun 2009

Nyasa Manufacturing Company Limited (NCM) says it has so far invested US$1.2 m into the venture.

“The machinery is already in place and we should be operational by mid-August this year,” said the company's managing director Ronrad Buckle who said the equipment, purchased from China, will be able to produce 2,500 cigarettes per minute. According to Buckle however, full establishment of the company has been delayed by forex shortage in the country.

The company has indicated that it has ready market for its products in neighbouring countries like Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Tanzania.

Buckle said initially, the company will create 50 jobs, although in the first six months they will engage Chinese technicians who will be training local employees.

Gregory Gondwe

About Gregory Gondwe

Gregory Gondwe is a Malawian journalist who started writing in 1993. He is also a media consultant assisting several international journalists pursuing assignments in Malawi. He holds a Diploma and an Intermediate Certificate in Journalism among other media-related certificates. He can be contacted on moc.liamg@ewdnogyrogerg. Follow him on Twitter at @Kalipochi.