Staff Writer

Largest fertiliser manufacturing company, Sable Chemicals will be embarking on plant maintenance in a bid to scale up Ammonia Nitrate (AN) production to meet full demand ahead of the 2021/22 farming season.

According to the company, Sable is currently producing 60 000MT of AN, instead 120 000MT at full capacity, hence the major plant maintenance.

One of the company’s engineers indicated that the company was set to undertake a twenty-day major plant maintenance exercise this October, to ensure maximum output as it prepares for the upcoming agricultural season.

“The plant maintenance exercise will begin on 8 October 2021. And during this period, no AN fertiliser production will take place.

“This move will only delay the conversion of 1 800 tonnes of Ammonia gas currently on its way from South Africa, which will produce 3 600 tonnes of AN fertilizer, but will certainly not affect the overall production for this upcoming farming season,” he explained.

The Kwekwe-based AN producer signed an MoU with Government to supply AN fertiliser under the Government-CBZ Command Agriculture/Sable Chemicals Contract, hence the plant maintenance exercise as part of preparations to ensure that there is maximum production before demand peaks.

Zimbabwe demand for AN fertiliser is between 300 000MT-350 000MT, and Sable alone produces 120 000MT at full capacity. The remainder of the demand is met through imports mainly from South Africa.