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Candel Exports Agrochemicals To Ghana

By Daily Guide
Business & Finance Candel Exports Agrochemicals To Ghana
SEP 2, 2015 LISTEN

From left:  Emmanuel Kattie, Sam Adu-Kumi, Charles Anudu and John Pwamang during the visit to the factory

Nigeria's leading agricultural inputs development and distribution company, the Candel Company Limited,  is set to commence the export of agrochemical products from its integrated manufacturing facility located at the Lekki Free Zone, Lagos to Ghana.

Chairman of Candel Group, Charles Anudu, disclosed this during a statutory plant inspection and assessment of the Candel FZE Plant by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of Ghana as part of the requirements by the regulatory body to ensure compliance with global environmental and quality standards.

Mr. Anudu revealed that the plant, which was inaugurated barely three months ago, has the capacity to export crop protection chemicals and foliar fertilizers to   Ghana. The other African markets will follow shortly in line with the vision of the company.

'As a company, we have been operating in Ghana for about 15 years, trading in agrochemical products made for us in Asia and Europe, but now we want to export our made-in-Nigeria products which are made with the context of the West African farmer as the focus. We will supply our own distribution network, as well as private label customers in that market,' he stated.

Assuring the visiting regulatory agency of the quality of Candel Agrochemical Products, Mr. Anudu underscored, 'we ensure that the quality of the chemical content in our bottle is exactly as written on the label. Our approach to quality is a holistic one which includes the quality of the content as well as the packaging.

In his remarks, the Managing Director of the company, Emmanuel Kattie, stated that his outfit's innovative Research & Development Unit was constantly working to improve product formulation to meet local needs.

An example, he said, is foliar fertilizer for cocoa which feeds the cocoa crop while protecting its pods from the dreaded Black Pod disease.

Mr. Kattie revealed also that through the company's R&D effort, it has a new maize herbicide that does not contain Atrazine, thereby resolving the underground water problems associated with this active ingredient.

Speaking shortly after the plant inspection, the Head of Chemical Control & Management Centre of EPA, Ghana, Dr. Sam Adu-Kumi, applauded the company's initiative, which he believed would set a good foundation not only for the economy of Nigeria, but the entire West African sub-region.

''Most of the agrochemical products that come into our country are substandard. In our sub-region, we only have one factory. Candel's plant and standards are a welcome development that would help boost the economy of Nigeria and trickle down to other West African countries,' he posited.

Mr Adu-Kumi commended the management of the company for carrying out due diligence of environmental impact assessment and also investing heavily in innovative product packaging process that would prevent leakages, as well as counterfeiting.

Commenting on the relationship between EPA and Nigeria's regulatory body like NAFDAC, the Deputy Director, Field Operations, EPA, Ghana, John Pwamang, stated that plans were at an advanced stage to harmonize the regulatory system for the whole ECOWAS sub-region, adding that that would facilitate the regional ambition of Candel.

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