New rubber factory in the offing

The Ghana Oil Palm Development Company Limited (GODPC) is to construct a rubber factory at its industrial estate at Kwae in the Kwaebibirem District in the Eastern Region.

The decision was unanimously adopted at a management meeting and the facility is expected to become operational by 2020. The factory will in the first phase produce 15,000 tons of crumb rubber per year.

A statement issued by the company said the company decided to amend the nature of its authorised business to include the cultivation of rubber and to construct and operate downstream processing facilities. While oil palm grows well in the lowlands, rubber outperforms palm on the slopes and hilltops in the area.

“A new outgrower extension scheme on rubber has already started and GOPDC will also provide high-yielding rubber seedlings to the farmers under the scheme. The export of the processed rubber will also yield hard currency for GOPDC, which will assure an attractive price to the farmers,” the statement said. 

The company further advised the farmers to replant the old citrus farms with rubber trees, which will give a reliable income for the next 30 years.

GOPDC is a subsidiary of the SIAT GROUP, which is a certified supplier of rubber to big tyre companies such as Michelin and Bridgestone.