Barry Callebaut Introduces Second Cocoa Bean Processing Line

The second bean processing line as well as the investment in Barry Village, a village we have built for our employees a year ago are evidence of our long-term commitment to this country of origin, which is the no. 2 cocoa producer in the world.

Barry Callebaut has inaugurated the second cocoa bean processing line for the factory in the Free Zone Enclave in Tema. The Tema factory was inaugurated on the first of November 2001 by His Excellency John Agyekum Kufuor, and now after five years, a second bean processing line was added, doubling the annual bean processing capacity from 30 000 tonnes to 60 000 tonnes.

The inauguration ceremony was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Finance and Economic planning, the Ministry of Trade and Industry and PSI, the Ghana Cocoaboard, the Ghana Free Zones Board, the Swiss Ambassador and other stakeholders. In his address, Patrick De Maeseneire, CEO of Barry Callebaut, confirmed the importance of Ghana as a key supplier of cocoa to Barry Callebaut. He also said: “The second bean processing line as well as the investment in Barry Village, a village we have built for our employees a year ago are evidence of our long-term commitment to this country of origin, which is the no. 2 cocoa producer in the world. Through our activities and investments in origin countries such as Ghana, Ivory Coast, Cameroon or Brazil we strive to improve the quality of our cocoa beans and at the same time we are making a contribution to the economic development of this country. Gotzon de Aguirre, Managing Director of Barry Callebaut Ghana, expressed the hope that the government would soon manage to resolve the very difficult energy situation in the country. Benoit Villers, President, Global Sourcing and Cocoa explained that one of the main reasons behind the decision to invest in Ghana is the commitment from the government to increase cocoa production to above 1 million tonnes.

Apart from the doubling of the bean processing capacity, the capacity expansion also included the expansion of the finished products warehouse, the expansion of the administrative building and the addition of an extra social block for the subcontractors so that more space is available in the old social block for the increased staff numbers. The total investment is worth more than 10 million USD.