Unilever has declined to confirm it is planning on expanding its its Africa operations with the setup of a manufacturing plant in Ethiopia.

According to a report carried by Bloomberg, the consumer goods giant was planning to open a manufacturing plant in Ethiopia during the next year.

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Citing a spokesperson in Africa, the wire said the new plant “may initially make fabric-cleaning soaps before moving into food”.

“We’ve taken a long-term investment decision in Ethiopia because of the demography, broad-based growth and opportunity to create a genuinely inclusive and sustainable business model from scratch,” the spokesperson said.

However, in correspondence to just-food today (11 March), a spokesperson for the group declined to disclose any further details.

He said there were “no specific plans that we would want to comment on at this stage”.

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