CPC (fin)
Story: Boahene Asamoah, Tema
THE second phase of the rehabilitation and expansion of the Cocoa Processing Company, (CPC) a leading exporter of cocoa liquor, cake and butter to raise the present production level of 30,000 to 65,000 metric tonnes is on course.
The $22 million project which involves the installation of new plants and machinery is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
The company undertook a two-phase expansion programme in 2004 which was completed in October 2005 and saw the building of a new cocoa processing plant that had the capacity to produce 30,000 tonnes of cocoa liquor.
Speaking in an interview, the Managing Director of the company, Mr Richard Armah Tetteh, said about 70 per cent of the civil work had been completed and the next phase would be the installation of plants and machinery, with the optimism that by the end of the year the company’s present capacity would be doubled.
The second phase of the expansion programme which started in November 2005, entailed the refurbishment and expansion of the old plant which was established in 1965 and had not undergone any major rehabilitation.
After the completion of the second phase of the expansion programme which would be completed in August this year, the company’s production capacity would stand at 65,000 metric tonnes and would generate an annual revenue of about $100 million per annum of exports in cocoa liquor, cake and powder.
Mr Tetteh said the full impact of the expansion works would be felt in the 2008 production year where the company would fully utilise its through-put capacity.
He said this year was rather a difficult one as the company had to repay some of the loans contracted to undertake its expansion programme, but stressed that there had been a steady increase in the growth and profitability of the company.
The Managing Director said with the completion of the project the country would generate enough resources to undertake projects on its own, without a recourse to financial institutions.
He said the company was also negotiating with other end users of its semi-finished products so as to have higher prices for its products as compared to the prices offered by the commodities market.
Mr Tetteh described the company as a “sleeping giant” whose potential over the next two years would be greatly felt as a result of the steady growth of the company.
The Techincal Consultant of the expansion project Mr Isaac Abbiw , said at the end of the project, the company would have the state-of-the-art technology within the entire continent of Africa.
Mr Abbiw said the old factory had been shut down to make room for the expansion works.
He said the old plant which had the capacity of 18,000 tonnes per annum would be upgraded to 35,000 tonnes at the end of the programme and pointed out that the expansion programme would include the installation of new equipment such as seven five new pressers in addition to the two existing one, milling and roasting machines and blowers among others.
Three companies in the country produce cocoa products for exports, they are West African Mills Company Limited located in Takoradi, which has increased its production capacity of cocoa butter and cocoa beans from 10,000 tonnes to 20,387 tonnes of cocoa butter and from 10,000 tonnes of cocoa beans to 53,351 tonnes.
Barry Callebaut, has also embarked on an expansion of its factory that would also see the expansion of its capacity from 30,000 tonnes to 60,000 tonnes.
The Government has indicated that the country must process about 40 per cent of all cocoa production in the year.
Cocoa production for the 2004/2005 production year rose by 27 per cent from 582,503 tonnes to an all time high of 740,457 tonnes for the 2005/2006 production year.
Picture in reports as CPC
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