Government has revealed emergency talks are underway to prevent total collapse of the Cocoa Processing Company (CPC), the largest manufacturer of chocolate and other cocoa products in Ghana.
Last month, the company shut down two of its three plants where cocoa beans are processed and asked 500 workers, including mechanics, to go home.
The workers’ union said CPC shut down the plants because it was broke, as it could not raise money to buy cocoa beans for production.
Profits from shares listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) are said to have gone in to government coffers.
Finance Minister Seth Tekper, addressing parliament on the matter on Tuesday February 24, said the Ministry of Finance had scheduled an emergency meeting with the Chief Executive of the Ghana Cocoa Board to address the issue.
“In my official capacity as Minister of Finance, I have invited the Chief Executive of COCOBOD, which actually owns 30 per cent (shares)…following discussions, which had been held earlier with management,” he told the House.
Established in 1965, CPC is situated in the port city of Tema in Ghana on the Greenwich Meridian.
The company comprises three factories: two Cocoa Factories and a Confectionery Factory. Cocoa Processing Company Limited is a limited liability company incorporated in Ghana on November 30, 1981.
The Cocoa Factories have an annual throughput of 64,500 metric tonnes of Premium Ghana Cocoa beans, which it processes into Cocoa Liquor, Cocoa Butter, Cocoa Cake and Cocoa Powder.
These semi-finished products are the major ingredients for the production of chocolate and other cocoa-based food products. The semi-finished products are sold under the Portem brand name to foreign markets.
The company, however, retains a portion of the semi-finished products for use in the Confectionery Factory.
The Confectionery Factory manufactures chocolate confectionery namely, chocolate bars, chocolate spread, drinking chocolate and chocolate dragees. The confectionery products are marketed under the brand name GoldenTree.
