BUA restructures model, targets double flour milling capacity in 2022

As part of plans to drive government’s backward integration agenda, especially as it relates to food production, BUA Group has restructured its business and consolidated its food businesses under a single entity to be known as BUA Foods.

The Chairman, BUA Group, Abdul Samad Rabiu, also stated that the commissioning of its two new lines in Port Harcourt by middle of 2021, would double its milling refining capacity for flour and pasta in the country.

According to him, BUA’s current capacity for flour and pasta is 850,000 metric tonnes and 250,000 metric tonnes respectively.

The BUA boss stated this at the unveiling of BUA Foods Plc in Lagos, explaining that, “By the middle of next year, we will be commissioning our new lines in Port Harcourt and with the completion, we will have a total of 850,000 metric tonnes of flour milling and another 250,000 metric tonnes which will give a total of 1.4 million tonnes of flour milling and 500,000 tonnes of pasta from next year.

“We are expanding both the flour milling and the pasta production and when these facilities in Port Harcourt are commissioned, we will have an installed capacity of over 1.5 million metric tonnes,” he said.

He said despite the economic challenges currently facing the nation, there are opportunities for growth and development, saying that some of these opportunities exist within the agricultural sector and food processing value chains.

He said the overall objectives and task before the country as it grapples with the pandemic and economic challenges, is to develop a plan to put the nation on accelerated growth within well-specified and realistic attainable timelines.

He said the company’s rice milling plant has the capacity to produce 200,000 metric tonnes yearly, saying that BUA is working on a rice plantation that will change the face of rice production in the country.

He said the challenges the country presently faces provide enough ground to do things differently.

“We have to prepare for what is ahead and we must challenge ourselves with new goals. Our resolve remains to produce high quality products in the widest customer base at reasonable prices. As a group, we have already set the ball rolling as underscored by the business restructuring that berth the consolidation of our food operations aimed at strengthening our market position,” he averred.

Earlier, the Chief Executive Officer, BUA Foods Plc, Ayodele Abioye said the company has reached a milestone that it started over three decades ago, saying that BUA brands are fully entrenched in all sectors of the Nigerian economy and promoting national development.

“We are proudly Nigerian business with international footprints. We are building our solid brand process centred on our customers and consumers. BUA Foods as a brand comes with many promises that reflect its promises to its customers and consumers.

“As we move in this journey, our brand promise is nourishing lives for growth and good health, promoting food security for all at reasonable prices with consistent quality services and experiences,” he added.