CSC Set To Exit Corporate Rescue After Mutapa Pays US$9 Million To Creditors

The Cold Storage Commission (CSC), once one of southern Africa’s biggest meat processors, is set to exit corporate rescue after its parent company, Mutapa Investment Fund (MIF), paid about US$9 million to settle most of its creditors.

CSC went into receivership five years ago when British investor Boustead Beef failed to inject the promised US$130 million in a joint venture with the government.

Mutapa Investment Fund’s Chief Investment Officer, Simba Chinyemba, confirmed that the revival process is nearly complete. He said:

“I think we’re almost finished with that process [of exiting receivership]. We have now almost completed payment of all the creditors. We’re just waiting for the final sign-offs on that.

“And when that happens, I think a lot of what, when that process is—it’s obviously a legal process where certain people have to sign certain things.

“But we’re pretty much done and we’re well-aligned that it’s done, including with the necessary authorities.

“But when that happens, now we can bring this company online and actually allow it to be the powerhouse that it has always been.”

CSC owns one of the largest abattoirs in southern Africa, giving it significant capacity in meat processing and distribution.

In addition, the company controls around 240,000 hectares of land across Zimbabwe. Said Chinyemba:

“Regardless of the number of abattoirs in Zimbabwe, CSC’s abattoir is the best abattoir in the region by none. So that is already a competitive advantage.

“We will not abandon that part because CSC must be an outlet for all our farmers to be able to bring their beef and other animals as well to our abattoirs.”

Chinyemba added that CSC’s Bulawayo abattoir, built to European Union standards, remains central to Zimbabwe’s plans to restart beef exports to lucrative international markets. He said:

“Believe it or not, Zimbabwe still has quotas with the EU, and the abattoirs at CSC, particularly the Bulawayo one, were actually built to EU standards so that we can export our beef.

“So it was actually meant to be an export mechanism, not just for local demand. I do think that our abattoirs are important and that they will continue to be so purely because there is no better abattoir.”

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