The government-owned Zanzibar State Trading Corporation (ZSTC) has received four clove cleaning machines worth Sh120 million jointly donated by the Singapore-based Nomanbhoy company and the local Africab Group.
The machines were presented to the ZSTC’s Managing Director, Dr. Said Seif Mzee by the Dar es Salaam based Africab Group Director, Yussuf Ezzi at the function held at Malindi.
Receiving the machines, Dr. Said said the government will continue to closely work with local and foreign trade partners to create conducive business environment.
He said the existing cooperation from traders is essential for the buyers and clove growers to increase the value chain of locally produced crops, adding the machines would help maintain the quality of the Zanzibar’s clove in the world market.
He said the machines would be used to measure the moisture content of cloves where at the international level it should not exceed 13 percent.
Dr. Said said the machines had come at the right time where the clove harvesting season is underway in the sister island of Pemba which produces more than 90 percent of the product.
Africab Group Director, Yussuf Ezzi, speaking on behalf of Nomanbhoy, said they had decided to provide the machines to help Zanzibar clove growers sell high-quality cloves.
