Adnan Adams Mohammed
Ekumfi Juices and Fruits Factory has advanced efforts to enter the natural juices market in Dubai, United Kingdom and United States with its varieties of pineapple juices.
As demand for the zero percent undiluted natural juices is growing, there is the need for increase in production. This has resulted in management stepping up their raw materials, natural fruits, sources thereby entering into partnership with Central Citrus Factory for orange pulps.
This comes after a media publication fortnight ago which reported a collapse of the factory. But during a media visit to the factory there was active production ongoing whiles management are putting in efforts to increase raw materials to jump production numbers this year.
“We have done all the preparatory works and are now working on our export documents and by the middle of the year we will begin exporting to those markets,” the Director of Operations of Ekumfi Fruits and Juices Limited, Mr Frederick Kobbyna Acquaah revealed in an interview last week.
As part of the visit, the various media houses were taken to the over 3000 acres of pineapples farms, which are the company’s own pineapple farms, in the enclave of Obiri in the Gomoa West District, Ekumfi Sardo near Otuam and Ekumfi Edumafa in the Ekumfi District.
Aside, the company’s 3000 acres cultivation of pineapples, it also in partnership with other farms that are expected to supply additional 3000 acres this year, increasing the pineapple supply to about 6000 acres this year.
However, management plans to increase this farm size to about 12,000 acres to meet the increasing demand for pineapples for production and also for the sustainability of the company.
“The new market we have found in US, UK, and Dubai have also necessitated the increase of our farms,” Mr Acquaah stated.
Consequently, the Director spoke bitterly against false news about the factory established under the one district one factory initiative.
Contrary to some media reports that the company has collapsed, Mr Acquaah explained that, the company has not shut down, saying the company produced based on demand to maximise economies of scale.
“Whatever we produced has already been sold,” Mr Acquaah said.
He said the company currently produced five various types of ‘Eku Juice’ and plans were advanced to introduce three additional variants.
He explained that the factory, which has seen over $20 million investment, and located at Ekumfi Abor in the Ekumfi District in the Central Region, has the capacity to process ten tonnes of pineapple per hour which translated into four acres of pineapple farm.
He said the company had more than 1000 workers who are mostly on the farms, adding that the factory had more than 75 professionals.
The Director of Operations said the company was running a double-shift system and the expansion plan would help triple it.
He said the establishment of the factory had helped to create jobs and improve the economy of the area in since the factory was established.
Mr Acquaah took the journalists round the $10 million Central Citrus Processing Limited at Abura-Asebu in the Abura-Asebu-Kwamankese District which Ekumfi Juices and Fruits Factory is mentoring for mutual interest.
The factory is to process citrus oil from the peels of oranges for export, while Ekumfi Fruits and Juices Limited would used the pulp for citrus juice.
He said the factory was located in a citrus production enclave and would help address the post-harvest losses of the citrus produced in the area and boost the economies of towns around the factory.
On corporate social investment, Mr Acquaah said the company was delivering on its corporate social responsibility by awarding scholarships and providing sanitation facilities to communities in the catchment area of the company.
The Ekumfi Fruits and Juices Limited was established in 2019, under the One District, One Factory initiative.
