The Ekumfi Fruits and Juices Factory has formed a strategic partnership with Central Fruits Processing Factory, a new citrus factory to build a complete fruits and juices hub.

The Central Citrus Processing Factory at Abakrampa in the Abura Asebu Kwamankese of the Central Region is expected to bring relief to farmers in the area who have for a long time suffered from post-harvest losses. 

Citrus fruits lay on the shoulders of the road on a daily basis, literally, begging for markets in the District.

Operations Manager of the Ekumfi Fruits and Juices Factory, Frederick Kobina Acquah, said the factory has come at an opportune time when farmers are distraught and have resorted to cutting down hundreds of acres of their citrus farms for want of markets.

The factory that’s expected to be completed in November, 2020 has had all its machines procured with construction ongoing steadily.

Frederick Kobina Acquah intimates, the strategic partnership between Ekumfi Fruits and juices and the new factory affordsboth factories the leverage to mutually benefit from each other in the usage of raw materials.

“Abura Asebu Kwamankese is a leader in citrus but it’s heartbreaking that the fruits get rotten either in the farms or along the shoulders of the road because there are no buyers.

"This factory will bring relief to farmers and those that were cutting down their citrus trees have now stopped after our meetings with them,” he said.

Frederick Kobina Acquah said the factory when completed will support the Ekumfi Fruits and Juices factory with raw materials for their pineapple-citrus mixed fruits juice. 

“At Ekumfi, we have three main juices: the raw pineapple juice, the pineapple mixed with ginger and the pineapple mixed with citrus fruits. We will need some of the raw materials from this factory for our juices,” he explained.

Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Coastal Development Authority, Kofi Karikari Bondzie, says supporting the building of the factory means a lot to the farmers in the District.

He says stopping farmers from cutting down their citrus trees, seeing the income levels of farmers go up and creating employment for the teeming youth in the area is exciting to the Coastal Development Authority.

“Ekumfi is a major breakthrough and when this is added to the number of factories being built across the region, the story of the region will change completely,” he explained.

Kofi Karikari Bondzie is convinced the region would be lifted out of poverty gradually with such projects. 

“The original duration minus COVID-19 was scheduled to be completed in August,” he ended.