The country�s largest-buyer of cocoa beans, Produce Buying Company (PBC), will officially open its sheanut processing plant in November this year to boost the sheanut sector, says the firm�s Deputy Managing Director in charge of Operations.
The US$10million plant will process sheanuts into shea-butter, shea oils and other derivatives for export.
The plant, located at Buipe, 68 miles (110 kilometres) from the Northern Region capital Tamale, will be operated by PBC Shea Limited, a subsidiary of PBC.
�Our plan is to purchase 40,000 tonnes of sheanut annually to feed the processing plant,� Mr. George Kwadwo Boateng told the Business and Financial Times in an interview. �We�re very optimistic of the good earnings that the company stands to gain from the investments.
�For now, we will export the butter to markets in Brazil; but we will look at other markets soon,� Mr. Boateng said.
He disclosed that the company is in talks with the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation to develop ways to reduce the gestation period of shea trees to between 7 and 10 years from more than 40 years.
He noted that the company will adopt an aggressive marketing strategy to improve its market share to 43 percent by the 2012-13 cocoa crop season, and also increase secondary evacuation activities with the hope of hauling 50 percent of cocoa purchases. �We will continue to improve and provide well-maintained storage facilities, institute efficient and cost-effective evacuation and improve the effectiveness and efficiency of our operations to minimise losses, among others,� he said.
He added: �Management shall monitor the various investment projects by the company to ensure that the desired results are achieved to expand the frontiers of our ICT programme.� PBC�s 3-year medium-term plan initiated in 2007 continues to see the company�s revenue increase at a phenomenal pace.
The company�s third-quarter revenue grew by 95 percent, from GH�565,892,262.00 in 2010 to GH�1,101,339,142.00 in 2011, due to bumper harvests of cocoa in the country. This month, PBC was adjudged the number-1 company in the latest Ghana Club 100 rankings for 2010, knocking off Toyota Ghana limited which held that position for 2009.
Mr. Boateng told B&FT that the company grabbed the number-1 position after putting in the necessary measures - adding: �If you look back at 2004/05 and 2005/06, those were the years PBC recorded huge losses. �This new management took office and we said we need to reverse that trend. We put in the necessary measures; we sounded it to the staff and we said this is the policy we want to follow.
"We communicated same to our financial institutions, to the staff and to our farmers; and today they all share in this glory, which means that hard work pays,� he said. �We shall continue to strive harder in pursuit of more laurels for the company and greater benefits for its shareholders.�
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