Upper East Regional Minister Donatus Akamugri Atanga has led Hanway International Investment Ltd to the abandoned Pwalugu Tomato Factory as the Chinese company considers helping restore the facility after years of inactivity.
Hanway chief executive Cui Yongzhi headed the delegation, which inspected the factory’s condition and nearby agricultural land along the White Volta.
The Northern Star Tomato Factory last operated in 2012. Since then, sections of the site have deteriorated and been exposed to theft. Weeds and shrubs have spread across the grounds, some roofs have been removed, and supporting wood and pillars have rotted.
Despite the damage to the buildings, the tomato-processing machinery and equipment remain in relatively good condition. Officials said the plant could restart after limited repairs and testing because of the durability of its factory-made equipment.
The facility can process 500 metric tons of tomatoes into paste. It was designed to provide direct employment for close to 600 people, with about 2500 indirect jobs, including work for the farmers who supply the factory.
Discussions with Hanway focused on the requirements for restoring the entire production chain, including the possible construction of a canning facility at Pwalugu.
Mr Akamugri explained that, when the factory was operating, tomato paste was put into drums and transported to Tema in the Greater Accra Region for canning. The government now wants that stage to take place at Pwalugu.
“So, we want to now establish the canning here. So that when we come here, you can it. And we need to supply to the market and export,” he said.
The minister said the revived facility should process more than tomatoes, suggesting onions, pepper, garden eggs, beans and dawa-dawa jam to ensure production throughout the year.
“Not necessarily tomato paste alone. You can do onions. You can do pepper. You can do garden eggs. You can do beans. You can do dawa-dawa jam, so that it will be all year round,” he told the investors.
He also said the government wanted to increase both the quantity and quality of agricultural output so that farmers could produce more from the same land.
“The government wants to improve on the first step. That is improving the quantities, and the quality of production. So that one acre can produce more,” he said.
Mr Akamugri showed the delegation farmland on both sides of the White Volta that could support tomato production, stressing that a reliable supply of raw materials would be essential to any restart.
Market and tax incentives
The minister said canning locally would improve the shelf life of the product. Under the former system, paste stored in drums with salt to prevent fungal growth could spoil if held for too long.
“When the farmers produce, they’ll get market. Because when you can them from here, they won’t get spoiled,” he said.
“But if you get to this point and you can them, they can last. They can last, and you can supply, you can export,” he added.
Pwalugu’s location could also provide access to Burkina Faso, Togo and Mali.
“You know here, we are near Burkina Faso. We are near Togo. We are near Mali. So you can even export them to those parts,” Mr Akamugri said.
He proposed that schools and hospitals supplied through government feeding programmes could buy products from the factory.
“The government will take a position to let you supply all the schools, all hospitals, where government is feeding. And this is going to be import substitution factory,” he said.
Mr Akamugri said imported competing products could face higher taxes, while local investors might receive incentives, including tax relief on machinery.
“So, when you want to import your equipment, the equipment that you are going to bring here, and then produce this one, they will give you tax waiver,” he told the delegation.
He said he would approach the government once Hanway identified the equipment required.
“So, the machines, all that you are going to bring here, let us know. We are bringing them to reform the public tomato factory in Upper East,” he said.
“I will tell the government to waive the taxes on them so that you can have an easy way,” he added.
