STORAGE FACILTY EASES STORAGE AT TDI PORT (PAGE 20, JAN 12)

THE Cocoa Marketing Company (CMC) has constructed a new cocoa storage facility to help improve the storage and haulage of cocoa in the twin-city of Sekondi/Takoradi.
The facility has reduced the turnaround time of cargo vessels and enhanced the fumigation of cocoa beans for onward shipment to the international market.
The 120,000-tonne capacity warehouse also has space for more than 80 haulage trucks at a time, a canteen, weighing bridge, security, electricity, water supply, garages for auto mechanics, vulcanising shop, a hostel and other social amenities that would make life comfortable for the drivers of the haulage trucks.
The CMC officials say they can now load the bags of cocoa onto containers from the warehouse straight to the ship and thereby decongest the port and limit the time cargo vessels spend at the port.
According to the Regional Co-ordinator, Mr Samuel Oduro-Asare, who conducted the media round the facility at Apowa, apart from the cocoa produced in the Western Region, the facility also takes care of the produce from the Central and Ashanti regions.
At the moment, about 90 per cent of cocoa meant for export is packed at the warehouse under the watchful eyes of customs and other officials of relevant institutions.
The coordinator said under the new arrangements, when the trucks arrive from upcountry, the CMC takes over the waybills and issues parking chits to the drivers after being processed to await their turn to offload their cargo into the warehouse.
“Before the facility was provided, it took us days to process a tonne of cocoa, but the facility has made the job so easy, thereby making the well-handled Ghana cocoa more competitive in the international market,” he said.
Mr Oduro-Asare said one of the main focuses of the company was to ensure that cocoa was handled in a manner that could generate more demand for the country’s produce.
He said the Quality Control Unit of the company applied the best fumigation methods and other forms of handling that ensures quality, created safety and provided the enabling environment for hundreds of people who have found employment at the facility, including the drivers.
Mr Oduro-Asare said prior to the building of the facility, cocoa trucks also parked anywhere in the metropolis, which, in many cases, resulted in accidents while drivers slept in the streets.
He said it was important to acknowledge that cocoa was the lifeblood of the country’s economy, and, therefore, needed to be handled well for shipment.
“I am personally happy with the fact that after the removal of the trucks from the streets of the Sekondi/Takoradi Metropolis, the constant reports of collision and crashes have ceased.
“That aside, it has also created hundreds of jobs for people, including women who sell cooked food, causal workers and drivers,” he said.