Guinness Cameroon is set to reduce its raw material imports by 30 percent

VENTURES AFRICA – Guinness Cameroon, a subsidiary of Diageo PLC is set to reduce its raw material imports by 30 percent. The beer brewer currently imports about 80 percent of its raw materials but intends to slash that figure by 50 percent in 2015.

By focusing on local produce, Guinness hopes to take advantage of the preferential Customs arrangement provided by the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC) and the Economic Community of Central African States (CEEAC). the framework offers companies, with 40 percent of locally sourced materials duty-free status to the ten countries under the regional organisation.

In 2009, Guinness embarked on an investment programme to increase the production of Sorghum in Cameroon. Sorghum is a grain, native to Africa and Asia, that is used to malt beer. Guinness said it had invested over $5 million to produce the grain locally.

Guinness will gradually substitute imported cereals like malt with local Sorghum. The company has significantly increased it Sorghum reserves by partnering local farmers. According to a report from the Regional Council of Farmers’ Organisations in Northern Cameroon (CROPSEC), Guinness buys an estimated 400 tonnes of Sorghum from the northern farmers yearly.

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