The Cocoa Processing Company Plc (CPC) is constructing a combined heat power into a biomass plant that will utilize cocoa pod, shells and other agriculture waste to generate power for its operations.

The project, 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 by 63 per cent after completing payment of the loan facility.

The company is also pursuing and developing new markets in Rwanda, Kenya, Angola, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates.

High-level discussions are on-going with the heads of mission of these countries on the sale of Golden Tree products in those countries.

Mr Kwaku Owusu Baah, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the company, disclosed this at the 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 2019 while turnover dropped from 28,433,361 dollars in 2019 to 13,645,898 dollars in 2020.

As part of efforts to increase efficiency of its plant and machinery, with the support of government, the Company had received technical support from Buhler Company Limited, a manufacturer of cocoa plant and machinery, 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 measures, including movement restrictions and border closures by governments across the globe to help curb the spread, impacted negatively on all businesses.

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.

“These developments posed challenges for our operations during the year under review.”

Nana Agyenim Boateng I, the Managing Director of the CPC, 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”. Nana Boateng said the company still had serious setbacks in its 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 to pursue our vision of turning your company around into a profitable venture,” he assured.