Soufflet Malt Ethiopia S.C. is set to begin production at its barley malting plant in Addis Abeba's Bole Lemi II Industrial Park in the coming weeks. The installation of machinery was recently completed at the plant, which was erected with an investment of 70 million euros and has the capacity to produce 110,000tn of malted barley a year. The Soufflet Group, a French business working on adding value to agricultural raw materials, operates 27 plants in Europe, Asia, and South America. The Group signed a land lease agreement with the Industrial Parks Development Corporation (IPDC) three years ago to open its first malting plant in Africa. Boortmalt, another French malthouse, began production at its facility in Debre Berhan Industrial Park at the end of last year. Ethiopia produces two million tons of barley for human and animal consumption, more than any other country in Africa.