AgribusinessBusiness

Cocoa processing company initiates projects to improve revenue

The Cocoa Processing Company is constructing a biomass plant that would help bring down the cost of utilities in the coming years

Kwaku Owusu Baah, the chairman of the board of Cocoa Processing Company, has said the company is constructing a combined heat power into a biomass plant that will utilise cocoa pod, shells and other agriculture waste to produce power for its operations.

According to him, the project which is anticipated to be completed in 18 months, would help bring down the cost of utilities in the primary years by 28% and in subsequent years by 63%  after completing payment of the loan facility.

Speaking at the company’s annual general meeting in Accra over the weekend, Owusu Baah disclosed that the COVID-19 pandemic posed serious operational challenges during the period under review.

“Besides the challenges brought about by the pandemic, the over-aged production equipment of the company experienced frequent breakdowns, which increased downtime and its related costs. These developments posed challenges for our operations during the year under review,” he noted.

Also, Nana Agyenim Boateng I, the MD of the CPC, said the company had many issues including a loss in profit and lack of growth due to inconsistent beans supply and challenges in the performance of the plant and machinery. However, he revealed that there was high demand and sales of chocolate due to “increased awareness.”

“This was as a result of increasing awareness of the efficacy of consumption of cocoa products in building immunity, which is a great asset in fighting any viral infectious disease. But the company still had serious setbacks in its profitability and growth as a result of earlier inconsistent beans supply and challenges in the performance of the plant and machinery.

“These, notwithstanding, the Board of Directors and Management will continue to pursue our vision of turning your company around into a profitable venture,” he stated.

The company incurred a loss of US$7.9 million in 2020 as against US$259,358 in 2019 while turnover dropped from US$28,433,361 in 2019 to US$13,645,898 in 2020.

As part of efforts to increase the efficiency of its plant and machinery, with the support of the government, the Company had received technical support from Buhler Company Limited, a manufacturer of cocoa plant and machinery, to have some processing equipment retooled to achieve efficiency and enhance revenues.

Nicholas Brown with additional files from GNA

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