Association president commends the country’s largest brewer for its proactive stakeholder engagement policy.
Zambian Breweries has assured bar and nightclub owners across the country of increased beer supply once its US$18 million expansion project is completed next month.
Earlier this year, the brewer embarked on an ambitious expansion project to improve product quality and increase output by 30 percent to address intermittent beer shortages in some markets.
Addressing a delegation from the Bars and Nightclubs Owners Association of Zambia during a familiarisation tour of the Lusaka plant this week, Zambian Breweries Country Director Jose Moran said the company was committed to ensuring a stable balance between supply and demand and would thus continue investing in the local market’s future.
He said: “Increasing production capacity in Ndola and Lusaka is not an easy task, especially amid prevailing economic challenges and the COVID-19 pandemic. This investment is a way of showing our consumers and retailers that we are here to invest for the future, and we are making efforts to balance our supply with the demand out there on the market.”
Mr Moran noted that Zambian Breweries was confident Zambia would overcome the challenges caused by COVID-19 and get back on course to achieve its development targets.
He added that the brewer would continue to invest in sectors that stimulated production, to help return the manufacturing sector and the economy to a steady growth trajectory.
Bars and Nightclubs Owners Association of Zambia President Peter Mwale applauded Zambian Breweries for proactively engaging the association to find a lasting solution to growing beer demand across the country.
“The steps you (ZB) have taken to engage us is the best way to finding solutions. We have seen the investment Zambian Breweries is making to address our challenges,” he said.
“The situation might not improve today or tomorrow; but from the investment we have seen, the challenges of beer shortages will be a thing of the past come July-August this year.”
Under the project, six 240,000 litre capacity fermentation tanks along with a multitude of modern brewing equipment are being installed at both the Ndola and Lusaka plants.
The first phase of the project is expected to be completed next month.
