The Democratic Republic of Congo’s Ministry of Foreign Trade said it will soon sign a decree introducing temporary import restrictions on bottle caps and syringes in the country’s western regions. The announcement followed a visit by Minister Julien Paluku to Africa Crowns & Packaging (ACP), a Kinshasa-based manufacturer in the Limete commune, on April 29, 2026.
The ministry said the visit aimed to assess ACP’s production capacity. The company produces both bottle caps and syringes. The restrictions would apply to Kinshasa and the provinces of Kongo-Central, Équateur, Kwango, Kwilu, Mai-Ndombe, Mongala, Nord-Ubangi, Sud-Ubangi and Tshuapa.
On his X account, Paluku said ACP has an annual capacity of 1.9 billion bottle caps, which he said is enough to meet demand from major brewers such as Bralima, Bracongo and Pepsi, produced locally by Varun Beverages, as well as other industry players. He added that the company could also export to regional markets.
The ministry said ACP also has an initial annual capacity of 300 million syringes. The government typically imposes temporary import restrictions when it considers local supply sufficient, and these figures underpin the planned measure.
The syringe component comes as the country remains heavily dependent on imported medical consumables. In March 2026, Benesha signed an occupancy agreement with the Special Economic Zones Agency for a project to build a disposable medical device factory, including syringes and infusion equipment.
Benesha chief executive Farah Kokobile said at the time that monthly consumption exceeded 10 million syringes in Kinshasa alone, demand still largely met by imports.
Africa Crowns & Packaging, present in the DRC since 2008, said it began operations with an initial production line in Kinshasa before expanding to Luanda in 2016, Kampala in 2019 and Accra in 2025.
The decree is part of a broader policy by the Ministry of Foreign Trade to support local industry through temporary import restrictions, aimed at protecting domestic production when authorities judge capacity sufficient to meet demand.
Timothée Manoke
