By Juliet Aguiar DUGBARTEY, Takoradi
The West Africa Mills Company (WAMCO) has called for investment support to rehabilitate its idle cocoa processing facility at Sekondi, known as the WAMCO 2 plant, to enable the company to maximise value from the cocoa sector.
According to the company, reviving the facility would allow it to take full advantage of the government’s recently introduced 50 per cent cocoa retention policy, which seeks to boost local cocoa processing and increase value addition.
The Deputy Managing Director of WAMCO, Dr. Boakye Danquah, said retooling the WAMCO 2 plant would significantly expand the company’s processing capacity and strengthen Ghana’s position in the global cocoa value chain.
He made the appeal when the Western Regional Minister, Joseph Nelson, paid a working visit to the company’s premises at Sekondi.
Dr. Danquah explained that the plant, which has a processing capacity of 30,000 metric tonnes, has remained idle for several years due to technical challenges and inadequate supply of raw cocoa beans.
He noted that the company requires an investment of between US$5 million and US$7 million to rehabilitate and restore the facility to full operational capacity.
Reviving the plant, he said, would boost domestic cocoa processing, revitalise economic activity in the Sekondi-Takoradi metropolis and create more than 200 direct jobs.
The Managing Director of WAMCO, Frank Bednar, commended government for introducing the 50 per cent cocoa retention policy, describing it as a major step towards promoting local value addition in the cocoa industry.
“Increased local processing of cocoa will help Ghana generate higher export revenues while creating sustainable jobs in the sector,” he said.
Responding to the concerns raised, the Western Regional Minister assured the company of government’s commitment to supporting initiatives that strengthen the cocoa processing sector and enhance value addition within Ghana’s cocoa value chain.
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