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Touton, one of the world’s largest cocoa trading companies, has made its gallant entry into the West African country of Ghana, in what can be marked as a historic move and the first of its kind for the French company and for Ghana.

The inauguration of Cocoa Touton Processing Company (CTPC) was attended by members of Ghana’s business community, the Diplomatic Corps, Government Officials, the chiefs and people of Tema and its surrounding areas and graced by the presence of His Excellency The President of the Republic of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama.

In his speech, President Mahama said, “Ghana now process about 30% of Cocoa Beans in the country and it’s my wish that this increase to a high percentage in no distance future. With the arrival of Touton in Ghana, it demonstrates the confidence France and other countries have in our economy.

This will create jobs for our youth and transforming our economy from net importer to net exporter of goods and services”.

A powerful player in the trading of cocoa, coffee, vanilla, spices and a variety of ingredients through a network of exporting subsidiaries in different countries, Touton considered for many years becoming a cocoa grinder in a producing country.

The opportunity presented itself with the take-over of an existing grinding factory in Tema, Ghana, known as Commodities Processing Industries Ltd, belonging to Niche Cocoa Industry Ltd; creating Cocoa Touton Processing Company (CTPC).

Previously owned and run by Mr. Edmund Poku, Commodities Processing Industries Ltd started operations in 2007 and quickly became one of the largest manufacturer of cocoa-derived foods, with a capacity of processing 25,000 metric tonnes of cocoa per annum.

Now, with its Multi – Million Euro investment into Ghana’s cocoa industry, Cocoa Touton Processing Company (CTPC), becomes one of few companies in Ghana, producing cocoa liquor for export.

At an earlier press conference during the inauguration, the CEO of Touton, Mr. Patrick de Boussac said, “This moment is a historic one for us. We strongly believe in the future of Africa. We have always had a strong business relationship with West Africa.

Touton has been around for a long time and our stable relationship with Niche Cocoa Industry Ltd and Commodities Processing Industries Limited in Ghana, allowed us to make a very easy decision about how best to diversify our business. We strongly believe in the stability and growth of Ghana and the promise of its natural and human resources.