The Sunday News
Dumisani Nsingo, Senior Business Reporter
ONE of the country’s leading timber logging and furniture manufacturing companies, Pride of Africa is seeking $200 000 to recapitalise its business in the wake of its thinning order book due to a knock in exports triggered by firming of the US dollar against regional currencies.
Pride of Africa manager Mrs Edna Chizinga said the company’s performance has been on an upward trend in the second half of the year after suppressed business since last year largely due to the depreciation of the South African rand against major currencies as well as the prevailing liquidity crunch in the country.
“As part of our strategy to retain our customer base and widen our market we revised the price of our products. Hasten to say that during the fall of the rand we managed to keep our business afloat through the sales we managed on the local market.
“We, however, need about $200 000 to replace part of our machinery because most of it is now obsolete and we also need to get new trucks as well as a tractor,” said Mrs Chizinga.
The company, which started operations in 1997 is situated in Nkayi District and exports 80 percent of its teak furniture and flooring products to South Africa, making it the largest supplier of teak decking and flooring products into the neighbouring country.
It harvests 300 to 400 cubic metres of timber at the more than 100 000 Forestry Commission’s Gwampa concession.
“Business has been slightly improving as compared to last year and the beginning of this year. The fall of the rand last year and the liquidity crunch in the country had a negative impact on our revenue,” said Mrs Chizinga.
Pride of Africa is one the few logging companies which are still operating in Matabeleland with the other two being Teak Baron in Tsholotsho and Asmara Timbers, Forestry Commission, Kusile Rural District Council in Lupane. Others namely Durawood Products, TN Harlequin, South South Investments, Alumcury and Lyspaw all in Tsholotsho and Rise Gate have since ceased operating.
“The timber industry has fallen on hard times and most of the companies have since folded thus our rebound might be due to the fact that we are harnessing those customers which used to be serviced by these other companies. However, our edge over most of them is that we are not only into logging but we also manufacture furniture. Our capacity utilisation is hovering between 60 to 70 percent,” said Mrs Chizinga.
@DNsingo
