Eastern Trading Company, trading as Dürsot Food Corporation, the controlling shareholder of AH-Vest, which produces All Joy products, on Monday launched a R100-million tomato processing plant in Modjadjiskloof, Tzaneen, to meet rising demand for tomato paste in South Africa.

South Africa was currently a net importer of tomato paste and, in 2012, the tariff applicable to tomato paste imports was increased to the World Trade Organisation-bound rates of 37%.

There was currently a rebate facility administered by the International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa, which allowed the downstream manufacturers of tomato-based products to import bulk tomato paste duty free, should domestic tomato paste processors be unable to meet the demand.

Speaking at the launch of the plant, Trade and Industry Minister Dr Rob Davies said Limpopo’s warm climate provided a suitable environment for tomato production.

He pointed out that the eighth iteration of the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI’s) Industrial Policy Action Plan (Ipap) was launched earlier this month with a major focus on moving towards a higher-impact industrial policy.

“The DTI would focus on labour-intensive job-creating parts of the manufacturing value chain, moving from generic programmes to sector-specific programmes such as agroprocessing,” he said

He noted that the agroprocessing value-chain currently employed 1.1-million people and contributed R150-billion, or 5.5%, to South Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP).

Davies further stated that, by 2030, the country could add a further R160-billion to the agroprocessing value chain and create an additional 490 000 jobs.

“Agroprocessing has high job-creation potential; [it also adds value . . . and lends itself to industrial decentralisation,” he said.

The factory currently employed 70 people and was hoping increase that number to 300 by next year. It would also create a further 900 seasonable jobs.

Speaking at the event, Dürsots executive director Marci Pather said about 36-million tons of tomatoes were processed a year globally and that Africa was one of the world’s largest consumers of tomatoes.

“We started production trials at this factory in 2015 and commissioned a canning line to make value-added products packed into 400g easy-open cans,” he said.

He noted that the company had initiated an export structure and would export 25% of its products to the Middle East, China and Africa.