National Flour Mills (NFM) has completed two new infrastructure projects with a combined investment of more than $25 million at the facility in Port of Spain.
Chief executive officer of NFM Ian Mitchell said on Tuesday these projects include a new two-kilogramme packaging line, which replaces a 40-year-old system.
At the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the machinery at NFM’s head office, he said, “One of the fastest-growing segments in the food industry, both locally and internationally, is the prepared dry mix category. Recognising this trend, we made the strategic decision in 2023 to invest $8.2 million in advanced standard pouch technology for our range of ready-to-use dry mixes.”
Mitchell said this technology allows NFM to package products in a consumer-friendly receivable format that enhances freshness, ease of use and international competitiveness.
The second piece of machinery installed was the two kg product line which he said accounts for approximately 12% of flour revenue.
“The two kg packaging line, installed at a cost of $17.2 million, replaces equipment that has served us for nearly 40 years. The advancements in technology over 40 years have been remarkable, and the state-of-the-art system brings significant benefits, including increased efficiency, allowing us to meet growing demand while reducing production downtime, improved food safety and hygiene, ensuring that the highest quality standards are met for our customers, reduce waste and a lower carbon footprint, reinforcing our commitment to sustainable manufacturing, enhanced ergonomics and workplace safety,” he said.
NFM chairman Ashmeer Mohamed said the company will be introducing another piece of equipment in June.
“The board, acting on management’s advice, has made the decision over the past two years to replace our dated packaging equipment, with the new modern state-of-the-art machinery–two of which were commissioned (Tuesday). Whilst we celebrate this investment in technology and production capacity, we take pride in announcing that we are installing another new state-of-the-art, fully automatic, ten kg packaging line, further enhancing our capabilities. This line will be fully commissioned by June 2025,” said Mohamed.
He added that NFM’s dry mix products are being exported in Guyana, Suriname, St Vincent, St Lucia, Antigua, Grenada, St Kitts, the United States, Canada and Jamaica “by the end of quarter three this year”.
“We intend to broaden our reach across the Caribbean and to reach out to the diaspora in international markets. This will enable us not only to generate revenue but also to acquire valuable foreign exchange to facilitate payments of raw materials,” he said.
MP for Port of Spain South Keith Scotland commended NFM and said, “You are keeping up with the times, and that is important.”
He added that the expansion was not just about improving packaging but driving economic growth, creating jobs and reinforcing T&T’s position as a regional leader in food production.
Trade and Industry Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon, in acknowledging the $25.5 million investment, called on NFM to create a paratha mix as she believes it would perform well locally and internationally.
Gopee-Scoon said the food and beverage sector accounts for about 10.5% of T&T’s gross domestic product as reported by the Central Statistical Office in 2022.
“With this new addition to the operational capacity at NFM, we can expect to see a strengthening of our export capacity and again position T&T as the leader in the region in terms of food production,” she said.
She said she understood NFM was looking at working with India in terms of rice production.
“We have a very special initiative where we work closely with the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries to increase rice production for T&T,” she added.
She said this initiative is part of Caricom’s plan to reduce the food import bill by 25% this year.
