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HPW Fresh inaugurates new fruit production facility

HPW Fresh and Dry Limited, a subsidiary of HPW AG, Switzerland, has inaugurated a 2.9 million Euro-facility for the processing of dried mangoes, pineapple and coconut, mainly for export to the European markets.

The 3,000 metre-square facility is at Adeiso in the Eastern Region.

With this new production facility, the Company could now more than double its existing capacity and increase its staff strength from 550 to 950 during the peak season.

Mr Maik Blaser, the Chief Executive Officer of HPW Fresh and Dry Ltd, said: “This is a very important step for the development of our Company. We believe in our employees, our farmers and the common future with our stake holders in this niche market.

“The quality of our healthy products and our sales numbers justify this new investment and we are happy to have created an additional 450 jobs in the rural area of Adeiso.”

Mr Blasser said HPW Fresh started the fruit drying business in 2011 and had since become an African leader in that field.

The Company, he said, in 2015 employed an average of 550 persons, stating that the Company processed more than 9,500 tonnes of fresh fruits into dried fruits.

He said currently the Company was working together with more than 400 small to large suppliers; adding that, besides dried fruits, the Company produced fruit bars, fruit leather and exports fresh fruits.

Dr Ahmed Yakubu Alhassan, the Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture, in-charge of Crops, said the Government would continue to ensure that the smallholder farmer had a stake in the totality of the wealth being created by agribusiness.

He said one of the challenges that had been facing the Ministry was how to organise farmers into viable groups. He, therefore, expressed his gratitude to the HPW Fresh Small-holder inclusive project for taking up the initiative.

He said markets were the pull factors for any meaningful agribusiness and science.

However, he said, previously farmers had always produced without knowing where to sell their produce, but now there were markets both locally and internationally.He said the Government’s focus was to get young people into Agriculture because through Agriculture wealth, knowledge and entrepreneurship would be transferred.

The Deputy Minister stated: “Let me also say that as a Government, we are constantly emphasising the need to grow our economy and to get the factors of production to be more efficient, while inclusivity has always been a priority….

“And I think that businesses that have made a lot of progress globally have had to come back to look at the issue of inclusive dimension of their businesses. So if we are starting with inclusivity, I think this company needs to be encouraged to continue to do so.”

Dr Alhassan said the only way that they could keep a value chain intact with all the benefits going to every participant was discipline. “If there is no discipline, the value chain will eventually break and everybody will suffer,” he said.

He urged the farmers to produce quality products that would always meet the standards of both the local and international markets. He appealed to the Company to create lasting legacy by including mentorship for young people in its training programmes.

Mr Korzie Sambo, the Chief Director of the Eastern Regional Coordinating Council, urged the youth in rural areas to stop migrating to urban centres in search of none existent jobs, but to rather stay in the rural areas and contribute their quota to the nation’s socio-economic development.

Mr Hans Docter, the Dutch Ambassador to Ghana, said his country would continue to support the growth of the fruits and vegetable industry for the mutual benefits of both nations.

Mr Gerhard Brueggar, the Swiss Ambassador to Ghana, said there was the need for the Government of Ghana to intensify its investment in the agricultural sector and to create favourable environment for farmers to operate.He commended the Government for beginning construction works on the main Adeiso Road, which also led to the factory.

Source: GNA

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