Adami Tulu Pesticide Processing to launch two new factories

Adami Tulu Pesticide Processing SC, the only pesticide producer in Ethiopia, is to inaugurate two new factories at a total cost of 26 million Br for the partial manufacture of mosquito nets and production of herbicides by the end of the year.

The factories are to be constructed near Ziway Town in Oromia Regional State, 170km east of Addis Abeba, by Adami Tulu, a government enterprise that was established in November 1998 with a total capital of 40.5 million Br.

"Out of the total of around three million nets imported annually at a total cost of 11 million Br, we plan to initially stitch around one million mosquito nets with a new stitching plant constructed at a cost of 15 million Br,” said Samuel Halala, general manager of Adami Tuli, which was restructured as a share company in January 2000.   

The machinery for the factory was imported from China through Tianjin Bohai Chemicals Import & Export Corp, according to the general manager. The factory, which will be erected in July 2011 and start production in August, is expected to save Ethiopia 4.5 million dollars, amounting to around 40pc of the cost of importing malaria nets annually, Samuel claimed.

"Upon reaching full capacity, the factory will process all three million mosquito nets, saving the country up to 14 million dollars in foreign currency with the expertise and technological knowhow from the Chinese company,” Samuel told Fortune.

Some raw materials, such as emulsifiers and mineral fillers, will be sourced locally, while materials such as active ingredients for pesticide production will be imported, according to the general manager,

Around 30 million bed nets, each costing an average of 50 Br to 60 Br, have been distributed by the Ministry of Health (MoH) over the past 15 months with funds from Global Fund, according to Ahmed Emano, director of public relations and communications at the ministry.  

Global Fund is an international financing institution aiming to fight the spread of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. To date, it has committed 21.7 billion dollars in 150 countries to support large-scale prevention, treatment, and care programmes against these diseases.

Another factory Samuel claims will reduce foreign currency costs by 40pc is the herbicide factory that is expected to be finished by December.

The factory is expected to process dimethylamine salt, a herbicide commonly used in Ethiopia against broad leaf weeds which most commonly attack crops such as wheat, rice, maize, sugarcane, and teff.

"We estimate the total construction of the factory to cost around 11 million Br with the machinery that is to be imported through from the same Chinese company,” Samuel said.

Adami Tulu currently imports herbicides from China and distributes it to farmers. Herbicide is one of the three pesticides used for crop and animal protection; the others are insecticides and fungicides.

The herbicides to be produced by the factory will be packaged in one-litre plastic jerry cans, according to Samuel.

Adami Tulu planned to earn 154 million Br in revenues this fiscal year but collected only 97 million Br over the past 10 months.

However, due to the planting season, it expects to earn more than the target in the remaining two months, according to Samuel.