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CHAIRMAN�S STATEMENT
Zambeef Products Limited, together with its wholly owned subsidiaries had
a successful year with all divisions within the group performing well. A
brief summary of the activities of the group are detailed below.
Meat operations
Zambeef continued to expand its Copperbelt retailing operations
acquiring a depot in Chingola and opening new shops in Mufulira, Kitwe
and Ndola. As a result our meat operations have continued with good
growth with most of this growth being on the Copperbelt.
Chicken
The demand for
Zambeef�s chickens continued to grow and Zambeef commissioned a further
four fully automated chicken houses with a capacity for 12,000 birds each
during the year. The chicken abattoir was expanded and upgraded while the
modern chicken feed plant installed by Zambeef has helped keep the cost
of production down. As a result Zambeef�s chicken operation has expanded
dramatically during the year and has performed well. Zambeef plans to
continue to expand its chicken operations in the next financial year.
Dairy
The dairy has
continued to expand with both milking cow numbers and the yield per cow
increasing significantly during the year. As a result Zammilk continues
to increase its market share in the fresh milk business. Zambeef�s
confidence in the dairy industry has resulted in Zambeef commissioning a
modern cheese plant which should be commissioned during April 2002. As a
result Zambeef expects to continue its rapid growth in the dairy
industry. This division had a successful year and continued growth in the
coming year looks achievable.
Cropping
Zambeef continued to
expand its Cropping operations and commissioned a new 65 hectare pivot
during the year taking its irrigated wheat up to 200 hectares. Zambeef
also planted 700 hectares of dry land crops of maize and soya. Part of
these crops will be kept for the feed plant while some will be sold
commercially. The company expects to commission a new 85 hectare pivot
for the 2002 wheat season and intends to expand its irrigated wheat crop
to 300 hectares this year.
Tannery
The tannery continued to expand during the year and commenced buying
hides in the open market to expand production. The continued commitment
to quality has resulted in Zamleather�s products gaining an excellent
reputation on the international market. Zamleather is now a large
non-traditional exporter with export earning in excess of US$1.3 million
per annum.
Feedlotting
This was a difficult year for the feedlot with stockfeed being in short
supply and expensive due to the shortage of maize. Despite this the
feedlot performed well with cattle sales up from the previous year. |
