CPC procures ?22m processing equipment

Tema, Jan. 25, GNA - The Cocoa Processing Company (CPC) at Tema, has taken delivery of a number of essential processing equipment worth over 22 million euros to facilitate its expansion project this year. After the expansion project by the end of the year, the company is expected to process 65,000 metric tonnes of cocoa per annum from its current 25,000 metric tonnes.

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency on Tuesday, Mr Ekow Rhule, Public Relations Officer of the company said the first phase of the project, which is the new production line, involved the installation of new equipment to process 30,000 metric tonnes of cocoa per annum and would be completed by July this year.

The second phase comprises upgrading the current equipment with a capacity to process 25,000 to 35,000 metric tonnes of cocoa per annum and this will take off after June till the end of the year for full production to commence next year.

He said a new marketing strategy had been explored to take care of the increased production after the expansion works. A memorandum of understanding to this effect had been signed with a company in India for the supply of natural cocoa powder while contacts had been made with some company in Israel to supply it with natural cocoa powder and other semi-finished products.

Already CPC supplies Togo with some confectionery products and hopes to explore Benin, Nigeria, Burkina Faso and Ethiopia, he added. On the company's bye-products, the PRO said it supplied local soap manufacturers with cocoa shells and exported some to other countries to be used as manure.

"With its conscious efforts to protecting the environment CPC also treats its liquid waste before disposing it off while an effluent treatment plant has been constructed to recycle the liquid waste, which we use in watering our lawns, he added.