Expatriate farmer to begin tomato paste production in Kaduna

Tomato paste production …to sell paste in buckets, drums Mira Mehta, an expatriate tomato farmer with 500 hectares around Kangimi Dam in Kaduna State is about to hit the market with her tomato paste brand in the coming months. Ms. Mehta is the founder and CEO of Tomato Jos Limited. She told Daily Trust in […]

Tomato paste production

…to sell paste in buckets, drums

Mira Mehta, an expatriate tomato farmer with 500 hectares around Kangimi Dam in Kaduna State is about to hit the market with her tomato paste brand in the coming months.

Ms. Mehta is the founder and CEO of Tomato Jos Limited. She told Daily Trust in her farm at Kangimi Dam that she intended to launch the paste in mid 2018 but her plans did not work out.

On Monday (8TH April), the farmer took to the twitter to announce: “Exciting news! This week Tomato Jos will produce a batch of tomato paste as we test equipment in advance of the 2020 season. We don’t yet have our brand finalized, so we will sell paste in 25kg buckets & 250kg drums. Each bucket goes for 7.5K”

She said the “Drums will be sold to institutional buyers while buckets are for smaller consumers. We can’t seal them for now, but we can pack a layer of salt on top of each bucket we sell, and that will keep it well preserved for two weeks plus without refrigeration.

“The tomatoes are going to have a little bit of salt mixed in as a preservative – and we might also put an additional layer of salt on top in order to keep the product fresh for longer” stressing that “if we pack a layer of salt on top of the paste it should be able to last for 1-2 weeks. But ideally, it should be put in a fridge or freezer.”

The farmer said her goal was to start with a branded product in the second quarter of 2020.

The farm and factory is based in Kaduna near the Kangimi Dam.