French company establishes cocoa processing factory
Cocoa Touton Processing Company Limited (CTPC), a subsidiary of Touton S. A. of France, has signed a bean supply agreement with the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) to process cocoa beans locally.
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At a ceremony at Cocoa House in Accra, Dr Stephen Kwabena Opuni, the Chief Executive of COCOBOD, said he was glad to welcome another cocoa processing company into the country.
He said he was hopeful that Cocoa Touton would help add more value to the produce, generate more employment and increase the consumption of cocoa in Ghana and the West African sub-region.
Backbone of economy
He commended the Chief Executive of CTPC, Mr Patrick de Boussac, for his interest in the growth of the cocoa industry in Ghana, which is touted as the backbone of the country’s economy.
Dr Opuni called on Touton S.A. to give its best and pledged COCOBOD’s maximum support to enable Touton to function as expected.
Mr de Boussac was grateful to the government of Ghana and COCOBOD for the opportunity to operate in the country and affirmed his company’s readiness to comply with regulations governing the operations of cocoa processing companies in Ghana.
Premium cocoa
He cited Ghana’s consistent production of premium quality cocoa, coupled with a stable business environment and proven democratic record, as the reason for selecting Ghana for the establishment of the cocoa processing plant.
The CTPC, which is located in the free zones enclave, is expected to commence operations in April 2015 with an initial capacity of 25,000 tonnes and eventually expand to about 50,000 tonnes over the next three years.
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In addition, CTPC is embarking on a programme dubbed Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+), which aims to protect the forest in the Western Region and increase sustainable certified cocoa production.
Touton S.A. has been buying cocoa from Ghana since 1998 at average volumes of between 80,000 and 110,000 metric tonnes, making it one of the top five buyers of Ghana’s cocoa.