Côte d’Ivoire – The government of Cote d’Ivoire plans to release US$ 3.2 million in support of the bakery sector as part of a reform project aimed at supporting the modernization of the sector.
The announcement was made by Aimé Koizan, Director General of Internal Trade, at the end of a national SME workshop in the country’s capital Yamoussoukro.
Themed “the problems of the bakery sector in Côte d’Ivoire,’ the workshop brought together players in the sector and representatives of the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Promotion of SMEs.
According to him, the funds will be used for subsidies and the structural transformation of the wheat flour-bread sector.
Bread is one of the most consumed foodstuffs produced by nearly 2,000 bakeries in the country, but various challenges have undermined the industry’s performance.
He also revealed that the initiative is part of the implementation measures announced during the Council of Ministers last year by the Technical Committee in charge of the sector to stimulate the bakery sector.
The country also schemes to strengthen the quality of training for bakers, limit taxation as well as stabilization of bread prices.
Côte d’Ivoire expects milled rice production to rise 27% in 2023
Meanwhile, milled rice production in Cote d’Ivoire is predicted to produce 1.4 million tonnes in 2023, Minister of Agriculture Kobenan Kouassi has announced.
This, according to the Minister of Agriculture, is a 27% growth when compared to the 1.1M tonnes produced last year.
Rice is the second most imported product after fish in the country but local production is inadequate to meet demand.
Agence Ecofin citing executive data noted that the country spent up to US$657M on cereal purchases on the international market in 2021.
Part of the bill was spent to import paddy rice which is estimated at 2.4 million tonnes annually, representing 60% of the local demand per year.
However, Kobenan Kouassi Adjoumani, Minister of Agriculture, showed optimism about the country to increase rice production during the launch ceremony of the first edition of the country’s rice campaign held in Abidjan on February 20.
According to him, the effort is attainable following the growth of the processing capacity of the local industry supported by the National Strategy for the Development of Rice (SNDR) extending over the period 2020-2030.
Under the program, the government has invested in 30 processing units with a production capacity of 10,000 tonnes per hour, of which 18 are already in operation.
In addition, Mr. Adjoumani indicates that nearly 850,000 hectares of agricultural land have been developed for the benefit of private operators to stimulate the local supply of paddy rice.
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