Olam to Invest $43.5m in Cote d’Ivoire

Olam International, a Singapore-based integrated supply chain manager and processor of agricultural products and food ingredients, will establish a greenfield cocoa processing unit in Abidjan, and a primary processing and warehousing unit in San Pedro in Cote d’Ivoire with an investment of $43.5m.

The company said that the cocoa processing facility will source cocoa beans from Olam's current primary processing plant in Abidjan, and will process nearly 60,000 metric tonnes of cocoa beans into cocoa products.

Olam also said that its San Pedro primary processing facility will be a modern drying, cleaning and sorting plant which embodies the required storage facilities to ensure future growth of the company in the Cote d’Ivoire's bean export industry.

The Abidjan cocoa processing plant is anticipated to be commissioned by the first quarter of 2012, and by the end of 2014, the plant is believed to produce 48,000 metric tonnes of cocoa products.

According to the company, origin processing of cocoa beans into intermediate cocoa products for export to global chocolate manufacturers is a lucrative domain considering the country’s large source of high quality cocoa beans.

Olam managing director and global head for cocoa Gerry Manley said that the company's investment into cocoa processing is part of our global cocoa strategy to integrate its value chain selectively by participating in attractive profit pools that will enhance not only its margins but also its overall competitive position in cocoa globally.

“Ivory Coast is a key location for setting up our first, large greenfield cocoa processing plant as the country’s cocoa products are an important ingredient to our customers’ chocolate recipes,” Manley said.

“This investment provides synergies with our bean business as it leverages our strengths in sourcing traceable and certifiable cocoa beans directly from growers in various producing regions and in supplying to discerning customers who are looking to outsource their cocoa ingredients to reliable, independent suppliers.”