Poultry exports drive growth

As Malawi’s poultry

industry continues to

grow, Jarp Logistics

is capitalising on the

opportunity to carry exported goods

by road to and from the southeastern

African country.

Jarp Logistics managing director,

Ronald Kuwali, told FTW that this

growth in exports

was mainly driven

by the fact that

poverty remained

an issue in Africa,

and poultry was

a cost-effective

source of food, as

well as an effective

income generator.

This was

confirmed

by research

conducted by University of Malawi

senior lecturer, Andy Safaloah, who

noted in a recent report that projects

such as the Smallholder Commercial

Poultry Project – which is aimed

at promoting commercial poultry

farming – have

contributed to

the growth of

the poultry

sector in the

country.

“Poultry production is, and will

continue to be, an integral part of life

in Malawi,” said Safaloah.

Other logistics opportunities in

Africa include the transportation

of pharmaceutical products to

international aid-assisted countries

such as Mali and Ethiopia. Kuwali

commented that Jarp had reduced

its rates to assist non-profit

organisations such as the United

Nations Children’s

Fund. “By helping

where possible

and investing

socially we often

find that this,

in turn, leads to

more business as

our efforts do not

go unnoticed,” he

said.

According

to Kuwali,

technology also plays an everincreasing

role in the way the

business operates in Africa

and globally. These changes or

adaptations have consistently

been implemented to improve the

company’s operations since its

inception in 2008.

For example, its vehicles are

fitted with trackers, enabling agents

to pinpoint exact locations for

goods in transit. And drivers are

equipped with mobile phones which

allow them to immediately relay

any information pertinent to the

timeous delivery of cargo.

In addition, Kuwali said that

business in Africa was growing

because it was the continent

where the most development

was taking place.

However, infrastructure

still remains a problem, which

means that the vehicles need

to be constantly serviced

to deal with the poor road

conditions. If vehicles are

not rzegularly maintained,

this results in costly delivery

delays.

To this end, Jarp recently

acquired a new truck to support

the growth in Africa and increase

efficiency within the business.

“It gives us more control over the

movement of cargo and we are better

able to ensure timeous delivery,”

Kuwali said.

INSERT & CAPTION

By helping where possible

and investing socially, we

often find that this leads

to more business.

– Ronald Kuwali