Cocoa Touton Processing Company Limited (CTPC), a subsidiary of Touton S.A. of France has signed a bean supply agreement with Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) to process cocoa beans locally.

At a ceremony held at the Cocoa House in Accra, Dr. Stephen Kwabena Opuni, Chief Executive of COCOBOD was glad to welcome another cocoa processing company into the country.

He was hopeful that Cocoa Touton Processing Company Limited would help add more value to the produce, generate more employment and increase consumption of cocoa in Ghana and the West African Sub-region.

He commended the Chief Executive of CTPC, Mr. Patrick de Boussac for his interest in the growth of the cocoa industry in Ghana that is touted as the backbone of Ghana’s economy.

Dr. Opuni called on Touton S.A. to give off their best and pledged COCOBOD’s maximum support to enable them function as expected.

On his part, Mr. Patrick de Boussac was grateful to the Government of Ghana and COCOBOD for the opportunity to operate in the country; and affirmed his company’s readiness to comply with the Ghana Cocoa Board rules and regulations governing the operations of cocoa processing companies in Ghana.

Mr. Patrick de Boussac cited Ghana’s consistent production of premium quality cocoa coupled with a stable business environment and proven democratic record as reasons for selecting Ghana for the establishment of the cocoa processing plant.

The CTPC, which is located in the free zones enclave is expected to commence operations in April, 2015 with an initial capacity of 25,000 tonnes, and eventually expand to about 50,000 tonnes over the next three years.

In addition, CTPC is embarking on a programme dubbed Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) which aims to protect the forest in the Western Region of Ghana and increase sustainable certified cocoa production.

According to Mr. Patrick de Boussac, Touton S.A. in collaboration with PBC Limited, a licensed buying company, sources traceable cocoa from Ghana and was ready to deepen that.

Touton S.A. has been buying cocoa from Ghana since 1998 at average volumes of 80,000 and 110,000 tonnes, making it one of the top five buyers of Ghana cocoa.