Funguo acquires Kwale juicer

Local fruit growers from lower eastern and coastal regions of the country will stand to benefit from the setting up of a state of the art fruit processing plant in Kwale County which will be commissioned later in the year.

The plant by Feastfoods Processing Limited has been boosted by the acquisition by Funguo Investments Limited who will now own 51 percent of the manufacturer.

Speaking during the signing of the deal, Funguo Investments Chief Executive Kenneth Muchina said that the plant will partly offer a solution to farmers who see must of their fruit produce go to waste.

“Fruits from the coastal region of Kenya have largely been going to waste with post-harvest waste levels for mango as an example estimated at 55 percent of total produce,” Mr Muchina said.

The new processing plant will also see an increase in Kenya’s manufacturing capacity in one of the country’s key sector.

Funguo Investment Chairman Dr John Simba said that the processing plant would greatly reduce the country’s overreliance on imported fruit concentrate given Kenya’s own local capacity.

“In our country agriculture is very important but often times we have not added value to what we produce. Adding value to mangoes (fruits) at the Coast gives us an investment opportunity,” Dr Simba said.

Ground breaking for the new processing plant is expected in May ahead of the commissioning in October.

The Sh1 billion project is partly funded by a Sh276 million long-term loan from the Industry and Commercial Development Cooperation (ICDC).

Funds for the first phase of the project have already been availed paving way for the completion of the new fruit processing plant.