Rwanda to launch US$45M milk powder factory in Nyagatare

RWANDA – Rwanda is set to unveil its first milk powder factory in Nyagatare District, Eastern Province, by the end of July 2024.

The facility, owned by Inyange Industries, represents a significant $45 million investment in the country’s agro-processing sector.

Initially slated for a 2023 launch, the plant’s operations will now commence on July 24, 2024, according to sources from The New Times.

The factory boasts the capacity to process 500,000 liters of milk daily into 50,000 kilograms of milk powder, amounting to an annual output of approximately 15,000 tonnes.

“This factory will increase Inyange’s processing capacity to almost a million liters daily. That translates to nearly Rwf9 billion monthly for farmers, with a minimum price of Rwf300 per liter,” Managing Director James Biseruka stated.

According to Solange Uwituze, Deputy Director General in charge of Animal Resources Research and Technology Transfer at Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB), Rwanda will produce 1,250,000 tonnes of milk every year by 2024 to satisfy milk demand.

She highlighted that the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources has developed a marketing strategy to secure an off-take contract with Africa Improved Foods (AIF) for 2,000 tonnes of milk powder annually.

The factory in Nyagatare will require 500,000 liters or 500 tonnes of milk per day or 180,000 tonnes per year. It will have an annual capacity to produce 14,000 tonnes or 14 million kilograms of milk powder and 5,460 tonnes of fat.

The remaining production will be exported to neighboring countries in the East African Community (EAC), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), and the Middle East, where demand outstrips supply.

According to Uwituze, as of 2021/22, Rwanda was producing 932 951 tonnes of milk per year. She said farmers are mobilized and supported to increase milk production to satisfy demand.

“The Nyagatare powder milk factory will require a relatively high quantity of raw milk (approximately 500,000 liters a day),” she added.

“It is primarily meant to get sourced from Nyagatare and nearby milk sheds like Gicumbi, but mobilization is done all over the country to increase milk production to satisfy both the milk powder plant and the existing milk market.”

As of August 2023, the average quantity of milk collected from 15 milk collection centers (MCCs) in Nyagatare (a significant milk shed in the country) decreased from 80,000-100,000 liters a day during the rainy season (March-April) to reach 39,900 liters a day due to lack of forage and water for dairy cattle.

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