During a recent “Ethiopia Tamrit” exhibition organized at Millennium Hall here in Addis Ababa, the Bishoftu Automotive Industry an affiliate part of Ethio Engineering Group presented a mobile Tomato processing plant.
Quality Assurance Department head with Bishoftu Automotive Industry head, Girmaye Leul told Ethiopian Press Agency that Bishoftu Automotive Industry by itself is comprises different manufacturing industries. As to him, Addis Machine Tools, Power Engineering which is transformer manufacturing industry, Adama Agricultural Equipment Manufacturing and Machineries manufacturing company in Debre Birhan City are among the nine industrial companies within the group.
The Tomato Processing Plant was manufactured by the Bishoftu Automotive Industry, Girmaye said. As to him, the Tomato Processing Plant is not an exception in manufactured mobile agro processing plant; the industry manufactures three different types of mobile agro processing plants. Tomato Processing Plant, Grains and Spices processing Plant and the Tomato Processing Plant are among the mobile plants manufactured by the industry targeting the agro processing sector.
The Mobile Tomato Agro processing Plant, according to the head, aims to easily reach in the agricultural fields to process the tomato product without transporting the raw tomato in to manufacturing plants found far from the agricultural fields. As to him, by processing the tomato immediately at the farm land using the mobile processing machine, it helps to extend the lifetime of the tomato product which develops the gains of both the producers and buyers.
According to Girmaye the mobile processing plant saves tomato producers from product wastage during excess of product. “Tomato is time sensitive product and when excess product is produced, farmers were unable to sell or to use the product. But, by easily processing the produced tomato, the mobile machine would save farmers from losing what they produced,” he stated. This helps to widen the market accessibility of the product.
In addition to the producers, due to the seasonality of the product the price of the tomato market fluctuates. Hence, by processing the product during the excess product, the machine would help to provide processed tomato to the market. Hence, it also helps to stabilize the market. For Girmaye, the Mobile Tomato Processing Plant has the capacity to process up to 250 kilogram of tomato within an hour. Any by improving the boiler and machine capacity of the plant, efforts are underway to make the plant processing 500 kilogram per hour, he added.
The plant is easy to use both at rural and urban areas. It uses both electric and generator for energy. The machine is fully automated, according to the head and it can packed the processed product through pasteurized the processing.
BY DARGIE KAHSAY
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD FRIDAY 14 JUNE 2024
