By Bright Ntramah.
President Akufo-Addo has assured investors of financial and other incentives to enable their businesses to thrive. He said the government will provide tax holidays, import duty exemption and tax rebate, to boost the competitiveness of local manufacturing companies that are adding value to raw materials.
President Akufo-Addo made this known when he inaugurated a 13-million-dollar cocoa processing plant expansion of Cargill Cocoa Processing Company in the Tema Free Zones enclave.
The multi-million-dollar investment is expected to boost the company’s cocoa-grinding capabilities by 20% to match growing demands for cocoa powder.
The expanded facility will increase the company’s annual production capacity to 90 thousand tonnes and support hundreds of new direct and indirect jobs.
President Akufo-Addo commended the company for expanding its production capacity amid the Coronavirus pandemic.
”The expansion of the plant underscored the importance of the private sector in the government’s Ghana Beyond Aid vision”.
President Akufo-Addo urged other investors to take advantage of the business friendly climate in Ghana and invest in the country.
”Ghana has been able to increase the export of processed cocoa by 31% between 2016 and 2019” the President noted.
”Government will provide incentives and maintain a conducive investment environment that will not only guarantee the safety of Investments, but good returns as well”.
President of Cargill Cocoa & Chocolate, Harold Poelma, said the expansion is in line with the government’s vision.
”To accelerate economic progress through agricultural industrialization, while improving the welfare of farmers and solidifying the country’s position as one of the world’s largest producers of cocoa”.
Cargill has been buying cocoa from Ghana for more than 40 years and in 2008 opened a state-of-the-art Cocoa Processing Facility in Tema. The company now has more than 330 permanent and contracted employees processing cocoa products to service food and confectionary customers locally and around the world.