New tomato factories have opened in Nigeria and Madagascar. The Nigerian factory is owned and operated by GB Foods, has cost N20bn ($14.2m) and is the second largest tomato processing factory in Nigeria.
GB Foods first announced its new tomato processing factory in 2016. Nigeria currently produces 2.3m tonnes of tomatoes annually, up from 1.8m tonnes in 2022. However, demand is currently 3.0m tonnes annually. Nigeria is currently ranked as the third largest importer of tomato paste concentrate globally, according to the National Horticultural Research Institute (NIHORT).
The new factory is located in Gafara, in the Ngaski Local Government Area of Kebbi State. GB Foods’ farm and factory in Kebbi generated 75% of the total tomato concentrate produced in Nigeria during the 2022- 2023 season. The tomato plantation and processing factory cover 1,500 hectares. At capacity, it can produce 650 tonnes of tomato concentrate per day, or 237,000 tonnes per year.
The second major factory investment is the the new ODOF (One District One Factory) factory in Mahitsy, Madagascar. Mahitsy is rural municipality in the Analamanga Region, in the Central Highlands of Madagascar.
The factory will process tomatoes into ketchup and concentrate and seek to create a value chain with local growers. It can process 100kg of tomatoes per hour, equivalent to 2.4 tonnes day. Government owned, the factory will be managed by DaGo Green Consulting, a local agency. ODOF is the Madagascan government’s flagship industrialization strategy, which emphasizes the installation of factories close to local population centres.
