Farmers Assured of Enough Coal Supplies

Source from:  The Herald (Harare) 09/02/2004

THE Coal Merchants of Zimbabwe has assured the farming community that there will be adequate coal supplies for the coming agricultural season. President of the association Mr Lovemore Kurotwi said all their reserves were full and they were now waiting to deliver the coal to various customers. "Those who have made the necessary bookings are guaranteed of supplies in the near future as our buffer stocks for agriculture are full to capacity," he added. Farmers mostly require coal for curing tobacco, which is the country's largest foreign currency source. Mr Kurotwi said since they patched up their differences with Wankie Colliery and the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) they have not encountered problems in supplying to the local industry. The agriculture and industrial sectors had blamed the two parties for failing to effectively play their part in the delivery of the coal. Companies had resorted to importing the commodity from neighbouring countries due to erratic supplies, a situation that milked the country of its hard-earned foreign currency. The coal procurement and distribution network recently commissioned a multi-billion dollar mobile crusher, which is expected to increase coal supplies for industrial and agricultural use. The crusher has a capacity to process about three tonnes of coal per day. Enditem