The Benue State Fruit Juice Company (BENFRUIT) has commenced final test runs ahead of full scale production aimed at cutting post-harvest losses of oranges in the state by 80 percent in order to boosting the local economy.
The company, reactivated through a partnership between the Benue Investment and Property Company Limited (BIPC) and Brazil-based SONO Group Global, would be churning out large scale juice concentrate production for the Nigerian market.
It would be recalled that the partnership agreement was signed in August 2025, with SONO Group expected to manage the facility for 15 years.
Speaking with journalists yesterday during the final testing phase at the factory in Makurdi, the Maintenance Manager of BENFRUIT, Engr. Henry Boager, said the plant currently operates at a capacity of four tonnes per hour.
He said that the company initially started production tests at two tonnes per hour before increasing to three tonnes, and has now attained four tonnes to ensure production stability.
Boager explained that about 6,000 litres of oranges were crushed within three hours during the test run, noting that the process involved extraction, pre-heating, refining and separation of pulp before concentration in the chamber.
He further said that 400 litres of juice were transferred into the juice tank within 30 minutes, while 2,200 litres were sent hourly into the concentration chamber.
‘If you calculate 2,200 litres per hour, you can determine the quantity of concentrate produced. We discharge the concentrate into buckets and 23-litre barrels. In one day, we are expecting up to 75 drums and about two container loads in a week,’ he said.