The Cocoa Processing Company (CPC) Plc is building a Combined Heat Power into a Biomass Plant that will generate power from cocoa pods, shells, and some other agricultural wastes while reducing inefficiencies in the system.

According to the company, the goal of this upcoming project is to improve the company’s operational efficiency and, in the long run, increase revenue.

The project, which is projected to be completed in 18 months, will help lower utility costs by 28% in the first year and by 63% in the following years after the credit facility is paid off.

In 2020, the corporation had a loss of 7.9 million dollars, compared to 259,358 dollars in 2019. Turnover for the year 2019 decreased from 28,433,361 dollars to 13,645,898 dollars in 2020. Due to the spate of inefficiencies, the corporation decided to restructure its operations and implement measures to prevent more losses.

Mr. Kwaku Owusu Baah, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the company, said that as part of the company’s efforts to improve efficiency in the plant and machinery, the company has authorized a quest to discuss with Buhler Company Limited, one of the manufacturers of cocoa plant and machinery, for technical support to have some processing equipment retooled to achieve efficiency and increase revenues, with the help of government.

Mobility Restrictions

Mr. Baah intimated that the Covid-19 pandemic caused a global economic downturn in 2020 and that governments around the world enforced mobility restrictions such as curfews, border closures, and travel bans to help stem the virus’s spread.

The Board Chairman further averred that these restrictions had a detrimental impact on all industries worldwide and that the company was particularly hard hit since large quantities of semi-finished chocolate products worth $20.8 million that were destined for export were stranded in the warehouse.

In Rwanda, Kenya, Angola, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates, the corporation is seeking to pursue new markets. The selling of Golden Tree goods in these countries is now being discussed at a high level with the Heads of Mission of these countries.

“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.”
Mr. Kwaku Owusu Baah

According to Nana Agyenim Boateng I, the business’s Managing Director, unpredictable cocoa bean supply in 2019/2020 impacted the company’s estimates, and as a result, the company was unable to process roughly half of the previous year’s output.

Confectionary sales, on the other hand, saw a significant boost as demand for chocolate confectionery goods grew, he said.

“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.”
Nana Agyenim Boateng I

Nana Boateng stated that the company’s profitability and growth had suffered major setbacks as a result of prior inconsistencies in bean supply and issues with the plant’s and machinery’s efficiency.

“These notwithstanding, the Board of Directors and Management will continue as pledged always to pursue our vision of turning the company around into a profitable venture?”
Nana Agyenim Boateng I