CPC Grabs 9 Awards In Belgium

President J.A. Kufour has commended the Cocoa Processing Company on winning nine awards at a recent international competition in Brussels, Belgium. Ms Cecilia Abena Dapaah, chairperson of the Board of Directors, presented the awards to the President at the Castle, Osu, in Accra at the weekend. The Monde (world) selection Award Competition was instituted by the International Institute of Quality Selection based in Belgium. The CPC presented nine products which were made up of seven brands of Golden Tree chocolate and two brands of drinking chocolate powder. All the seven brands of Golden Tree chocolate and All Time drinking chocolate won gold medals with Vitaco product winning silver. President Kufour said although the CPC has performed creditably to win the awards, much of the commendation and credit should go to the farmers. He said without the efforts of the farmers to produce the best quality cocoa beans, the CPC would not have had the best raw materials to manufacture the winning products. “We have to encourage farmers to maintain the quality to their produce,” President Kufour said. He praised the Board of Directors and management of the company for taking the initiative to float shares on the Ghana Stock Exchange to generate additional funds for their operations. He commended workers of the CPC for their co-operation with the management and said such peaceful industrial relationship played a catalystic role in the company's achievement. The Managing Director of the CPC, Dr Peter Kwame Awua said the company is embarking on an expansion programme to increase its present processing capacity of 25,000 metric tones to 65,000 metric tones of beans within the next two years. He said the expansion programme will enable the company to increase its annual revenue from ¢200 billion to ¢630 billion and register a profit of ¢60 billion. Dr Awua said over the years, the company has carved a niche for itself as a reputable, profit-making state enterprise with local and international recognitions. He said the floatation of shares is to afford Ghanaians the opportunity to directly invest in and own part of the company and therefore urged the public to patronize the shares.