Introduction
Groundnuts paste is made from grounding fried groundnuts into a paste. The paste is used as a sauce stew to accompany food. It is many times mixed with other sauce or mixed directly into food. It makes soup heavy, and tastes nice. It may also be used or pasted on bread and be used instead of butter. This proposal will produce a safe product using stainless steel machinery unlike the present products produced using cast-iron equipment, which end up laced with materials likely to cause cancer to those eating it. About 250 to 350 kgs of groundnuts can be processed daily. An investment capital of US$2,768 would sufficiently start up this project. The project is estimated to generate annual revenue of US$327,600 with a net profit of 28%
Production Capacity, Technology and Process
The process begins with the cleaning and sorting of the sun- dried shelled groundnuts. Thereafter, the nuts are fried briefly so that they can make a paste and to give a good taste. It is then put into the grinding machine for processing into a paste and packed in plastic containers .
The process is quite simple and fast and a substantial amount can be processed in a day with modest equipment within a small space.
Capital Investment Requirements in US$
| Capital Investment Item | Units | Qty | @ | Total |
| Stainless Grinding Machine | No | 1 | 1000 | 1000 |
| Sealing Machine | No | 1 | 720 | 720 |
| Furniture | No | 1 | 200 | 200 |
| Weighing Scale | No | 1 | 720 | 720 |
| Bicycle | No | 1 | 72 | 72 |
| Plastic drum | No | 2 | 20 | 40 |
| Ladels | No | 4 | 4 | 16 |
| Total | 2,768 |
Production and Operating Costs
(a)Direct materials, Supplies and Costs in US$
| Cost Item | Units | @ | Qty/ day | Pdn Cost/ day | Pdn Cost/ mth | Pdn Cost/ yr |
| Direct Costs | ||||||
| Groundnuts | Kgs | 1.65 | 250 | 413 | 10,725 | 128,700 |
| Simsim | Kgs | 1.7 | 100 | 170 | 4,420 | 53,040 |
| Packaging materials | Pcs | 0.43 | 350 | 151 | 3,913 | 46,956 |
| Sub-total | 700 | 733 | 19,058 | 228,696 |
General Costs (Overheads)
| Rent | 98 | 1176 |
|---|---|---|
| Labour | 210 | 2,520 |
| Selling and Distribution | 100 | 1,200 |
| Cleaning and Toiletries | 65 | 780 |
| Miscellaneous | 50 | 600 |
| Depreciation | 26 | 312 |
| Sub-total | 549 | 6,588 |
| Total Operating Costs | 19,607 | 235,284 |
- Production costs assumed 312 days per year with daily capacity of producing 300kgs of paste.
- Depreciation (fixed asset write off) assumes 4-years life of assets written off at 25% per year for all assets.
- Direct costs include materials, supplies and other costs that directly go into production of the product.
- Total monthly days assumed are 26-days.
- The valuation currency used is United States Dollars.
Market Analysis
There is a ready market for the paste and outlets are spread all over because this is a house hold item used by all families throughout the year. It is stocked in markets, provisional shops and supermarkets etc.
Project Product Costs and Price Structure
| Item | Qty/ day | Qty/yr | @ | Pdn Cost/yr | UPx | Total Rve |
| G/nut and Simsim Paste | 350 | 109,200 | 2.2 | 235,284 | 3 | 327,600 |
Profitability Analysis Table
| Profitability Item | Per day | Per Month | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 1050 | 27,300 | 327,600 |
| Less: Production and Operating Costs | 754 | 19,607 | 235,284 |
| Profit | 296 | 7,693 | 92,316 |
Government Facilities and Incentives
The government trades a liberalized policy on trade and commerce. It is in the interest of government for anybody to take up any venture that would add value to agricultural produce where this project falls. There are low interest financial facilities in different institutions that can be accessed by those that suit the prescribed investment lines or parameters.
