Olam International opens wheat milling facility in Ghana

Olam International, a Singapore-based processor of agricultural products and food ingredients, has opened a $55m wheat milling facility in Tema, Ghana, as part of its strategy to expand its presence in the country’s agricultural sector.

The mill, located in the Kpone industrial area, features eight large silos for wheat storage, two warehouses, spacious loading grounds, and a laboratory.

It will achieve an annual flour production capacity of 115,000mt within three years, catering to both local and foreign markets.

Olam International CEO Sunny Verghese said this is the first organic wheat milling facility in Africa constructed by the company even though it has acquired other wheat milling facilities elsewhere in Africa.

"Wheat flour is a significant and highly demanded food component worldwide and in Ghana as well, whose demand and consumption we envisage to increase further over the next few years as incomes increase in the country," Verghese said.

The mill, which has been designed to minimise energy consumption, is expected to generate GHS20m ($11.63m) annually as government revenue through taxes and duties.

The company also announced its plans to increase its investment in the country by almost five times over the next three years. To date, the company has invested GHC150m ($87.28m) and plans to increase this to GHC750m ($436.40m) by 2015.

Olam is a licensed buyer for cocoa in the country with a country-wide presence in 80 towns and villages with an annual turnover of $335m and plans underway to foray into cashew processing and pasta manufacturing in the future.