1 Product Description: Cornflakes is a type of food made from corn flour and usually eaten during breakfast. It is similar to sliced and dried or roasted potato chips.
2 Market Potential: Corn or maize is one of the major crops grown in the Amhara Region. Corn does not constitute one of the staple foods in the Amhara Region. It is rarely consumed in a form of bread or “Injera”. The popular from of consumption of corn is to roast the corn seeds while they are on the shales. In some localities corn is used to make home-made beer. In times of food shortages corn flour is made into injera and consumed. Currently corn constitutes a very small portion of the diet of an average family. One major advantage that corn has is that productivity per unit of hand and labor is much higher than many other crops. Corn flakes are new types of foods for many ordinary families in the country. However, in practically all western counties they are the basic breakfast diets. Given its large production per unit of land, corn can be a major source of food if people are used to the different types of diet that could be made from the crop. One type of diet is corn flakes. Up to now, all the corn flakes consumption of the country is met by imports. With domestic production of corn flakes, import of the production will be replaced and with proper marketing strategy local consumption will increase. If corn flakes are popular in the west, there is n o reason why they can not be in our country.
Domestic Production and Import of Cornflakes (in tons)
Source: Customs Authority (various years)
3 Source of Raw Material: Practically all zones of the Region have localities which can produce corn.
4 Production and Process: Similar to the manufacturing of all food items, the process of manufacturing corn flakes starts with the cleaning of the raw material – corn. Cleaning is done through a series of stages until the corn is completely free from foreign material. Then follows the operation of grinding and making the corn in to different grades of flour. After this, the flour is converted into dough whereby it is made into different but thin or flat shapes before cooking. After cooking the flakes are packed.
5 Estimated Investment: For a small plant which can produce about 1,500 tons of corn flakes per year, the estimated investment will be:
§ Fixed Capital = Birr 4,000,000
§ Working Capital = Birr 1,00,000
Total = Birr 5,000,000
6 Benefits: Stimulates production of corn and increases income of corn farmers, introductions new diet to the region, creates possibilities for exporting corn flakes to other regions.
7. Location: Any urban center near major corn growing. Areas of the region