Singapore to invest US$31.5m for wheat mill in Ghana

SINGAPORE: Olam International said it will invest US$31.5 million to set up a wheat mill near Port Tema, close to the largest flour market in Ghana.

The company said Ghana is a large market for wheat flour in West Africa, consuming about 270,000 tonnes annually.

Olam said wheat milling is an attractive opportunity because its consumption is expected to increase by 7.5 per cent per annum over the next five years. Also, the company said Ghana may impose tariffs against flour imports.

It will start building the 500 metric tonne per day wheat mill in March this year and have it in operation by September 2011. It aims to achieve 115,000 metric tonnes in annual production in the first three years.

Olam plans to become the third largest wheat milling company in the country.

The mill is expected to turn in US$64 million in revenue and US$14.9 million in earnings before interest, tax and depreciation within the first three years.

The company will be releasing its financial results on Thursday evening.