Coega concentrates on tomatoes

Work has started on a R100-m tomato processing plant in the Coega IDZ. According to Gary Berkland, commercial manager at Grinaker- LTA Building Cape, the “extremely fast-track contract” will see the completion of Cape Concentrate's new facility in April this year. The factory is expected to produce 50 000 tons of paste per year from 330 000 tons of fresh tomatoes that will be trucked in from the Gamtoos valley, Jeffreys Bay, the Sundays River valley, Somerset East, Fish River and coastal areas between Port Elizabeth and East London. Full production capacity is expected to be achieved within three years and the paste, to be packed in drums, will be sold locally and exported probably through the neighbouring port of Ngqura. When it announced the plans for the factory, Cape Concentrate’s Gus Robinson said it would be one of the lowest cost producers in the world and the largest plant in Africa.