Accra, Dec. 31, GNA— The Cocoa Processing Company plc (CPC) is constructing a Combined Heat Power into a Biomass Plant that will utilize cocoa pod, its shells, and other agriculture wastes to generate power for its operation.
The project which is expected to be completed in 18 months, would help reduce the cost of utilities in the primary years by 28 per cent and in subsequent years after completion of the payment of the loan facility, to 63 per cent.
The company is also pursuing and developing new markets in Rwanda, Kenya, Angola, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates. High-level discussions are ongoing with the Head of Mission of these countries on the sale of Golden Tree products in their various countries.
Mr Kwaku Owusu Baah, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the company, disclosed this at the company’s Annual General Meeting in Accra on Friday.
The company incurred a loss of 7.9 million dollars in 2020 as against 259,358 dollars
In the year 2019, turnover dropped from 28,433,361 dollars in 2019 to 13,645,898 dollars in 2020.
Mr Baah said as part of the company’s efforts to increase efficiency in the plant and machinery, the company with the support of the Government had approved their quest to discuss with Buhler Company Limited, one of the manufacturers of the cocoa plant and machinery for technical support to have some processing equipment retooled to achieve efficiency and enhance revenues.
He said the global economy suffered a recession in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and that Governments around the globe imposed movement restrictions including curfews, border closures, and travel bans, to help curb the spread of the virus.
The Board Chairman said these measures impacted negatively on all sectors worldwide adding that the company was heavily affected as huge volumes of its semi-finished cocoa products worth 20.8 million dollars earmarked for export got locked up in the warehouse.
“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,” he said adding that these developments posed challenges for the operations of the company during the year under review.
Nana Agyenim Boateng I, Managing Director of the company said erratic cocoa beans supply in 2019/2020 affected the company’s projections and as a result, were unable to process about 50 per cent of the previous year’s output.
He said the Confectionary sales, however, witnessed a heavy jump as demand for chocolate confectionery products increased.
‘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’ he said.
Nana Boateng said the company still had serious setbacks in 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 as pledged always to pursue our vision of turning your company around into a profitable venture?, Nana Boateng added.
GNA