Houet: The Minister of Commerce visits the Bobo III ginning factory

The Minister of Industrial Development, Trade, Crafts and Small and Medium Enterprises, Serge Poda, accompanied by his collaborators, visited on March 18, 2023, the Bobo ginning factory III of the Burkinabè Society of Textile Fibers (SOFITEX).

The Bobo III ginning factory of the Burkinabè Textile Fibers Company (SOFITEX) is located in the Bobo-Dioulasso industrial zone. It is currently in full operation, thanks to the company’s ginning campaign.

It is between the sounds of machines and the comings and goings of agents that the Minister of Industrial Development, Trade, Handicrafts, and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, Serge Poda, visited on March 18, 2023, the Bobo III complex.

Accompanied by his collaborators, he went in turn to the seed quality control and certification laboratory, to the weighbridge service, to the ginning factory and to the analysis, classification and cotton technology room. .

The Director General (DG) of SOFITEX, Boubacar Sidiki Babilé Seye, and his agents explained the operation of the different compartments of Bobo III to their host of the day.

Thus, he told the Minister that the laboratory is working to provide quality seeds that can meet the needs of producers, SOFITEX and spinning mills.

From the ginning mill which is running at full speed with state-of-the-art facilities, the Minister ended his visit to the analysis, classification and cotton technology room where the market value of cotton is determined.

This laboratory accredited by the West African accreditation system is ranked third worldwide, according to the first officials of SOFITEX.

At the end of the visit, Serge Poda said he was impressed by the technological progress and the dedication of the workers in the treatment of cotton.

“I am leaving with great satisfaction and pride after touring the SOFITEX cotton ginning industrial complex. We visited all the facilities which comfort us because these latest generation facilities will enable it to fully play its leading role in the cotton sector in the sub-region,” he said.

Serge Poda, said he remains convinced that Burkina Faso will be able to recover its leading position in cotton production in the sub-region. He then invited the company to provide producers with good quality, high-yielding seeds.

He wished for an increase in sown areas in order to have enough cotton to enable SOFITEX to regain its leading position both at African and even global level.

The DG of SOFITEX, welcomed the visit of the Minister which contributes to galvanize the staff and allowed to have a fair measure of what has been done and what is being done.

“This can allow a number of grievances to be passed on to the government, which subsidizes the price of inputs in order to boost cotton production,” he said.

The Bobo III ginning factory of the Burkinabe Textile Fibers Company (SOFITEX) opened its doors in 1989 and covers 15 hectares.

It is the largest ginning unit of the 15 factories that make up the National Textile Fibers and the “most modern” in West Africa with a daily ginning capacity of 600 tons.

Source: Burkina Information Agency